The Apprentice: Water
by JadiexGurl
Summary: Everyone knows about the almighty Avatar, and his or her responsibilities are. To bring peace and balance across the four nations. However, what not everybody realizes, but everyone needs guidance throughout their lives, including the Avatar. To solve this problem, the Spirits created the Avatar's Apprentice! Join Kiara in her adventures with the GAang! Information in prologue! OC
1. Prologue

**The Apprentice**

_**Author's Note: The idea of the Avatar having an Apprentice is **__**not**__** my idea. All ideas and credit go to the original creator: The musical bender. I asked her if I could write a story about her idea and she said yes. I did not steal anything; nothing belongs to me, with an exception of my own OC – Kiara. Thanks for your time and effort into reading this! ^^**_

_**!This story used to be on my old account 'Averageteen15', however I had forgotten my password and email unfortunately! **_

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Long ago, the Spirits of the land were displeased that the world was filled with an unbalance; despair, pain and suffering. The Spirits were desperate to have happiness and peace fill the forsaken world, so they created a bridge that connected the spiritual and physical worlds.

The Spirits made a decision to make this connection through a person known as the Avatar. The Elemental Spirits had made sure that the Avatar could bend all four elements, water, earth, fire and air. The Avatar could contact the Spiritual world for advice whenever he or she needed it. The Avatar's duty was to create balance and protect the Spiritual and Physical worlds. He or she would be reincarnated within the four nations in the following order, air, water, earth, and fire. That cycle would repeat continuously, and was known as the Avatar Cycle. The Spirits were pleased with their work, as the Avatar kept fulfilling his or her duty with every ongoing cycle.

The Spirits kept watch on the Avatar throughout his or her life. They had noticed that, despite the gifts that came with the title, the Avatar would often feel vulnerable, confused and isolated as he or she traveling the world, learning the different customs, forms and arts of each element. The Avatar was often attacked by the people as they disliked him or her for several different reasons. In result, the Avatar often failed to create peace and balance as he or she was originally created for.

To solve this conflict, the Spirits created yet another being to help the Avatar; this being was known as the Avatar's Apprentice. The Apprentice's duty was to be a protector, adviser and friend throughout the Avatar's life. The Apprentice was always born into the next element of the Avatar's home element. The Spirits made it so that the Apprentice could bend two elements; the Avatar's home element and the next element. Like the Avatar, the Avatar's Apprentice would be reincarnated and cycle continuously. The Avatar's Apprentice would travel and train by the Avatar's side forever. The Spirits ensured that if the Apprentice were to die whilst the Avatar is still alive, a new Apprentice would be born and fill the empty space of the Apprentice before, under the same nation.

As the solution to the Spirits grew, it had brilliant results and proved to be a success. The Avatar and the Apprentice worked side by side and continuously fulfilled their duty of protecting, balancing, and kept peace to the worlds. As the latest Avatar is born, the Spirits began to wonder if this solution would be enough to handle the upcoming war the First Nation produced.

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Dawn approached as a woman's pained cries and screams echoed throughout a small house. Her pain radiated from deep inside her womb. This woman was indeed in labor; and her child could be born at any given time. An elderly woman stood by the screaming woman, her cries starting to increase as her stomach clenched even more. A sign that the infant was soon to enter the world.

A piercing infant's cry rang throughout the room as she took her first breath. The woman lying on the bed cried in relief, her child's cry causing tears of her own to fall. Not one witness of the birth knew the important destiny the child possessed. This infant would be the second powerful being of her time. Just a small bundle of blankets would be a protector of not only the world but another. This infant.. was the Avatar's Apprentice.

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_**Again, this is not my idea whatsoever. Idea and credits all go to The Musical Bender. Thanks also goes to my new beta reader: Sun Daughter. **_

_**Now, before everyone judges on the prologue, read Chapter 1: The Apprentice!**_

_**Like it? Hate it? Lemme know in a review!**_


	2. The Apprentice: Part 1

**_A/N: _****_Again, all credit goes to the original 'The musical bender'. It was on my other account 'Averageteen15', unfortunately I had forgotten both my email and password. Resulting in me posting it on this account! I do not own anything, except my own character Kiara._**

**_Also, I would like to give a ginormous THANK YOU to my beta: Sun Daughter!_**

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_Chapter 1: The Apprentice: Part 1_

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_ The sun had begun to fall, signaling the end of the day, and the moon would rise soon. The sky was painted in many different shades of red, purple, and blue, making the area glow brightly. The sounds of the steady river filled the quiet atmosphere, as a cool breeze gently blew through. Beside the river, were green grass that had grown tall as it tussle in the wind. It swayed in a peaceful manner, like a gentle wave. Standing tall and strong, was an oak tree that seemed to be in its mature stage of life. The oak tree stood strong beside the edge of the river. It's long shadow caster over the swaying grass._

_ A small figure stepped through the grass with ease, interrupting the sway of the grass. The figure stood in front of the tree and into the remaining light of the day before it was encased in darkness. It was a young boy. He carried a long wooden staff that almost looked like a walking stick, yet it was plainly obvious that it was for a larger purpose. In the wind, his pale yellow outfit gently tousled around him, yet he paid no mind. His bald head with a pale blue arrow that was a permanent tattoo, was tilted up to the large oak tree. In the high branches of the tall tree, was another small figure that sat with their legs dangling down. Their legs swung gently while they dangled in the air. To meet up with the young boy, the figure leapt down from the high branch easily. This figure was a teenage girl. She seemed like she was gently floating down to the ground, however, it was a completely different story. She was gracefully air bending her way down._

_ The young boy smiled at the teenage girl as she stood at her full height. Just a few inches taller, she looked slightly down at the bald boy. Her deep green dress that ruffled out at her waist and went to her knees, tussled around from her airbending. She tilted her head to theside as she smiled warmly, making her curly ebony hair swish to the left. Her ebony hair was a lighter colour near the ends of her hair that glowed in the setting sun, and looked as though it was silk. Her presence seemed familiar and peaceful to the young boy._

_"Look at this," her smooth voice stated as she turned towards the river, and gracefully moved her arms and legs in several different complex movements. Her stance was relaxed, while she had a peaceful expression on her face. A small stream of water rose from the river and she bended the water into a sphere. The sphere then turned into a tiny watery tornado as it spun in the teenaged girl's hands effortlessly. The young boy realized that she was also waterbending, along with air bending._

_"Wow! That's great, Kiara!" his voice replied in awe as he stared at the water tornado in her hands. Her head looked up from her artwork, to meet the young boy's stormy grey eyes. A small smile made its way on her way, as small wrinkles grew beside her turquoise eyes._

_"Thanks, Aang. I've been trying out this for a while now," Kiara trailed off as she admired her work. The soft smile continued to stay on her face. The young boy, Aang, watched in fascination as Kiara played with her bending. Moving her heads in a steady, yet flowing pattern, Aang couldn't help but be drawn in to the young woman. Kiara was incredibly graceful and had a peaceful aura. Just like the airbenders at the Air Temples were, Aang thought longingly._

_"Do you think you could teach me that air ball trick that you showed me the other day?" Kiara asked as she grinned eagerly at the young boy. Aang's dark grey eyes lit up excitedly, knowing that he could have another person to play air ball with. He hasn't played a proper air ball game in a long time, considering it has been over a hundred years, and playing with Sokka never truly cut out for Aang. When the monks had told him that he was the Avatar, the other children believed that it was unfair if the Avatar joined with them. ._

_"Sure! Only if you teach me that cool double bending trick!" Aang replied, growing more excited by each passing minute. She chuckled at his excitement for a moment before nodding her head._

_"Deal. When I teach you, you must call me by my full title! It seems more professional!" Kiara grinned smugly as she thought about her title._

_"Of course, Apprentice Kiara," Aang mockingly replied as he bowed in front of his temporary teacher. Bending the water back into the flowing stream, Kiara responded to Aang, and bowed before him as well. As they straightened their selves, both benders wore matching grins on their faces. Kiara's hands smoothened the wrinkles in her deep green dress before placing her hands on her hips with a wide grin on her face, "In return, I'll call you Avatar Aang!"_

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Slowly sitting up from his resting spot, a young boy yawned drowsily, regaining his conscious from his slumber. His tattooed-covered hand rose to his eye to rub the remaining sleep out. His stormy grey eyes blinked twice before looking around his surroundings. He sat cozily on a massive creature that was coated with thick white fur. The animal's deep breathing was soothing to the young boy as the boy sighed in content. Not far from the massive animal, were two people that were sleeping happily in deep blue sleeping bags. Both people had nicely tanned skin, and shared the same nose. These two were easily recognizably related to each other. The younger sibling was a girl who seemed to on the verge of waking up. Her breaths became less deep, and slightly quicker. To her left, was an older boy with his short hair sprawled over his pillow messily. His mouth was wide open that were filled with loud snores, and a slight drool was seeping down the side. He was still in a deep slumber, from the looks of it. It was clear that the two siblings were from the Water Tribe, from the blue fabrics and appearances.

A small lemur curiously crawled up to the young boy's leg in slight caution, with wide green eyes. A smile grew on the young boy's face as he scraped behind the lemur's ears, earning a pleasurable purr from the animal. "Good morning, Momo."

The young boy stretched his limbs, and cringed at the soreness and stiffness. His thoughts instantly replayed back, to what caused the aching in his limbs. Thoughts of the previous day came rushing through his mind. Him and the two Water Tribe siblings were forced to flee from their relaxing stay at Kyoshi Island, home of one of the previous Avatars. The heir to the Fire Nation throne, Prince Zuko, intruded on the peaceful island and burned the harmless village in hopes of capturing the young boy. He only wanted him because he would be the one to restore balance and peace to the world, he was the Avatar. To top all the exhausting work, the young Avatar had rode a large water creature that was said to be over four hundred years old, twice. It took a lot of energy out of the young tattooed boy.

"Good morning, Aang," Katara greeted sleepily as she stretched her stiff limbs as well. Her dark hair was loose from her long braid, giving her a wild and untamable look. Aang smiled at the waterbender, to suppress his laugh. Fortunately, for Aang, the young bender never noticed.

"Good Morning Katara!" Aang replied cheerfully with a large smile on his face. A rumbling was heard from the left of them, and both benders turned their attention to the source. In the deep blue sleeping bag, a large lump grumbled loudly.

"People are trying to sleep over here! If you don't mind!" Sokka's voice rang out in annoyance, which only received light laughs from his two companions. From being woken from his slumber, the warrior decided that he wouldn't be able to sleep any longer. Sitting up from his previous position, Sokka began to rub the sleep from his bright blue eyes. Katara stood up from her sleeping bags with ease, and walked towards the massive animal's saddle that held their supplies.

Katara turned to face her two companions, "I'm going to the stream to refill the water skins. I'll be right back,"

With her statement, Katara walked over in the direction of the stream with her arms full of the water skins. The stream was not located far from their small camp and was a small yet decent stream. It was slightly colder near the stream, making the air more moist and humid. Humming slightly, Katara kneeled down next to the stream and opened the water skins. She moved her wrists in stiff and edgy movements, water flowed to her command and into the water skins slowly. It gets easier every day, Katara thought as she felt accomplishment of her bending. She was slowly becoming better by each day that passes, even without a master waterbender that she would have preferred to have. Unfortunately, Katara was the only waterbender in the entire South Pole from the result of the Fire Nation. They have been ordered to take all the water benders from the South Pole in hopes of destroying the hopes of the next Avatar. On the positive side, Katara's mother protected her and sacrificed herself for her only daughter that had the ability to waterbend. Ever since then, Katara was determined to master waterbending at any cost. On that determined thought, Katara gathered the now full water skins and marched off back to their small camp. When the water bender returned to the camp, Aang and Sokka had begun to eat their portions of the remaining of their food. Which consisted of berries and vegetables. In result of Prince Zuko's evasion in Kyoshi Island, the trio wasn't able to gather the needed supplies.

"We need to go to the nearest village to get more supplies," Katara stated as she received her small breakfast from Sokka.

"'Kay," Sokka said with his voice muffled from his mouth full of food. Katara cringed at her brother's manner before turning to Aang. The bald monk was staring at his untouched breakfast with a dazed look in his eyes. His elbows were placed on his knees as he sat on a log silently. Katara's eyes instantly softened in concern for the young monk.

"Aang? Are you alright?" Katara asked as she placed a hand on his shoulder, making him jump in surprise. His dark eyes snapped up to meet the water bender's concerned blue eyes.

"Huh? Oh, yeah I'm alright! I was just thinking," Aang trailed off distractedly. It just made Katara even more concerned, perhaps it was her motherly side taking over. Katara ignored that thought and focused her attention on the bald monk beside her. "Thinking about what?"

Aang sighed before meeting Katara's eyes once more, then meeting Sokka's curious gaze, who was also focused on the young airbender. Knowing that it would lead to bad consequences, Aang decided to be honest with his new family. His eyebrows scrunched up together in deep thought as he recalled his dream, "My dream that I had last night, it was strange. I was near a river with a tall oak tree beside in. There was a girl that was sitting on a high branch, and jumped down beside me. The weird thing was, that she used airbending to slow down her fall. It wasn't a fluke or anything; it was real airbending! Then she showed me a trick that involved water and air bending at the same time. For some reason, I called her Apprentice Kiara, like we were close friends or something,"

The water tribe siblings took this information into deep thought, with matching serious gazes. Katara's eyes lit up as she remembered something important. "What about the Avatar's Apprentice?"

"Who's that?" Sokka asked half-interested with a bored tone, making Katara narrow her eyes at her ignorant brother. She huffed as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Haven't you listened to Gran-Gran stories?!" Katara asked exasperatedly.

"Nope!" Sokka replied, popping the 'p' with his lips. Katara rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to the interested boy on her right.

"Well, I'm not sure if the monks told you or not, but long ago the Spirits had created an Apprentice for the Avatar. His or her job was to protect the Avatar with everything they have. To do that, the Apprentice could bend two elements of the Avatar, the Avatar's home element and the next element in the cycle. The Avatar and the Apprentice are drawn to each other by their unique powers! Maybe the girl in your dream was the Apprentice!" Katara told the two boys excitedly with a proud smile on her face from her information. The Avatar grinned as he took this in. Aang was nearly jumping in his spot on the log that he was on. Many thoughts swarmed around his head in an excited manner. Did that mean at someone shared the same element as him? Could he or she teach him waterbending? Where did he or she live? How would he find the Apprentice?

"Great. Another weirdo with freaky powers," Sokka pouted with his arms crossed over his chest in an immature pose. His sister rolled her bright blue eyes in his direction, while Aang just chuckled at the older boy. The young monk knew better than to take what Sokka said personally because he knew that Sokka never meant anything.

"We have to find her!" Aang replied as he used airbending to jump up from his sitting position easily, with a wide grin on his face. The water tribe warrior huffed at the bald boy from having been ignored.

"Okay! But, Aang, where do find her?" Katara asked with her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion with her head tilted to her right. All hope seemed to wash out of Aang as his shoulder sagged in defeat. He hadn't thought about that. Aang was completely caught up with the fascinating idea of having an Apprentice to be by his side to teach him waterbending. Katara seemed to sense his disappointment, and rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He met her comforting gaze, and smiled sweetly at the waterbender in thanks of her reassurance.

"Let's go to the nearest town first, to get more supplies," Katara states as she dropped her hand from the young monk's shoulder.

Aang nodded with a glad smile before finishing his remainder of his small breakfast. It only consisted on a few vegetables and berries, which caused Sokka to groan in hunger. That boy seemed to have a bottomless pit in his stomach, Aang mused to himself as he attempted to hide his grin by eating berries. Once their meal was eaten, and the trio packed their limited supplies on a law saddle that was built for the massive animal. Said animal straightened his six legs in anticipation of leaving with an eager groan coming from him. With his staff, Aang airbended the large saddle onto the animal's back and instantly jumped onto the animal's head where the reins were. The siblings quickly followed the young airbender's lead and climbed onto the saddle. "Appa! Yip, yip!"

Appa slammed down on the ground with his fur covered tail, and quickly flew into the air. The ground below the, quickly begun to shrink as they ascended into the blue sky. Large fluffy clouds lazily blew past the flying bison. The air in the blue skies were crisp and fresh compared to the humid air in the forest. The young waterbender immediately grabbed a needle and thread to begin sewing buttons back onto a blue parka. Her brother, Sokka, took in a deep breath of the crisp air and began sharpening a boomerang that was strapped onto his back. With his two human companions busy with their chores, Aang let his thoughts take over as he steered Appa. He couldn't get the girl in his dream out of his thoughts.

This girl, Kiara, was simply too fascinating to stop thinking of. Aang only knew of himself of bending more than one element, now there was another who could. Would his Apprentice be nice or mean? How would they even find Kiara? Is she even in the Earth Kingdom? Aang immediately dismissed that thought because there was no possible way of her being in the Water Tribe, because in his dream, the setting around them was filled its plant life. Therefore, that ruled out both the Water Tribes and Air Temples, since there wasn't a mountainous terrain in his dream. Somehow, Aang simple knew that they weren't in the Fire Nation. It wasn't humid or extremely warm where they were in his dream.

In result, Aang's only option was in the Earth Kingdom. Apprentice Kiara was somewhere in the Earth Kingdom, which didn't make it any less problematic for him. The Earth Kingdom had the largest land mass in the world, and it would take months to find Kiara. Sighing at this thought, Aang gazed at the ground to find the nearest village.

In the distance, vast fields covered the ground with vertical rows of plants, which Aang assumed was meant for farming. From the air, small pecks of people moved efficiently throughout the rows of plants. On the left of the vast fields were a cluster of different sized buildings that swarmed with people roaming throughout the streets. This village was sandwiched between the vast fields and the outskirts of the forest that spread throughout the land. Aang steered the reins towards the village. Aang informed the two water tribe siblings of their soon descent, and they begun putting away their chores that kept the, busy for the past twenty minutes. Aang landed Appa inside the forest, where the bison could have shade for, the morning sun to relax. Katara and Sokka grabbed armfuls of branches for the massive animal, so he wouldn't get hungry while they were away. The flying lemur chattered aimlessly before diving into the leaves, receiving an annoyed groan from Appa. The trio left their two animal companions and trekked towards the village that was a short trek away. As they neared the village, the busy noise reached their ears it sparked their curiosity more. The streets were filled with people, making the atmosphere seem stuffy. The buildings that surrounded the area had traditional decorations on the walls and doors, making it seem more traditional than most villages. Katara took the lead as she searched the streets for stalls that would deem useful for their needed supplies. Finding a fruits and vegetables stand, Katara began gazing through each type of plant.

Getting bored of standing in one place, Aang wandered slightly off. Sokka's attention drifted off towards the young airbender, and went to stand by his side, seemingly bored of standing there as well. Aang looked around the streets and observed the many people that filled the area. All of them were typical Earth Kingdom citizens with deep brown hair and hazel eyes. From their stances and actions, you could easily tell that they had attitudes of Earth benders. Strong and bold.

Aang let his mind wander as he stared at the passing people. Somehow, all of his thoughts ended up on the girl from his dreams. He just couldn't stop thinking of her. This girl was his Apprentice that would be by his side and act as a protector and advisor. Together they were to bring peace to the world. Aang couldn't help but feel anxious and nervous about their meeting. He was snapped out of his thoughts from yelling to his left. Aang looked around to find Sokka's back turned to him with his hands in the air. Curiosity got the better of Aang, and he moved around Sokka so he could see what was happening.

"Thanks, I really appreciate you making me drop my stuff on the ground," a sarcastic feminine voice drawled out. Aang looked down to find a girl on her knees hastily picking up coins that had fallen out of her coin purse. Heeled shoes were dropped on the ground beside her. Her head was faced down to the ground, with her dark ebony curly hair covering her face.

"It was an accident! Besides, it was you who decided to run into me!" Sokka scoffed defensively as he bent down to help her pick up her fallen coins.

"What happened here?" Aang piped up curiously as Sokka gave her the rest of the coins. The dark-haired girl tied a string around her coin purse before picking up her shoes and stood up. She had dirt covering the edges of her deep green dress and her calves from when she was kneeling on the ground to pick up her coins. With a free hand, she dusted herself off before fixing her dark curls that was slightly out of place. Her eyes flickered to Aang, and that was when he noticed her irritated bright turquoise eyes. She observed the young airbender before widening her eyes in disbelief and astonishment. Aang's breath caught in his throat as he looked the girl over.

Before Aang could utter a word, she ran off into the crowd of people, instantly getting lost in the swarm. Aang gaped at the young girl with a short breath. The moment he thought he met the girl he was searching for, was gone. The powerful feeling in the pit of his stomach was now gone. His instincts were strongly telling him to run after her, because he knew that this was the girl. Aang heard a sigh beside him, and he looked over to Sokka who stared at the air bender with an eyebrow raised.

"Did you know her or something?" Sokka asked, making the Avatar look back to where the girl had ran off to.

Aang replied distractedly as his attention was drawn to where the girl had ran off to, "Well, not exactly, but I do!

"So you just happen to know this random stranger who just bumped into me?" Sokka replied, clearly not believing Aang. He crossed his arms stubbornly as he stared at he monk.

"Um, kind of, I guess. I mean that she looks exactly like she did in my dream!" Aang replied as he recalled his dream he had the previous night. Sokka rose an eyebrow at the distracted monk.

"Who looks like the girl in your dream?" Katara suddenly asked as she walked over with a basket filled with variety of foods that she could purchase with the leftover money she had from what Gran had given her. Startled at her sudden appearance, both boys jumped and stared at the water bender.

"There was a girl that looked exactly like the girl in my dream!"

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**A/N: So? How did you guys like it? Was it too cliche or too sappy? Let me know in a lovely review! **


	3. The Apprentice: Part 2

_**A/N: My beta mentioned it to me that the original first chapter to my story was slightly lengthy.. So I decided to split it up into two chapters! ^^**_

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"Where do you expect she ran off to?" Katara asked after the trio had walked back to where they kept the massive animal in the forest. Aang leaned against Appa with a concentrated expression on his face. Sokka, who was munching happily on an apple, gazed uninterestedly at the two benders.

"What about that place in your dream, Aang?" Sokka asked uninterestedly as he took a large bite out of the red apple in his hand.

Aang leapt to his feet excitedly, "That's it!"

The three friends soon found themselves flying through the vast blue skies searching the ground. They flew above the wide forest that spread across the land. A cool breeze blew past, cooling them from the sun's rays. Earlier, the bald nomad had described to the water tribe siblings the setting in his dream. For the most part, the trio has been searching for a steady river in the vast forest. The determination of the bald nomad had rubbed off on the siblings and all three were steadily searching the ground for any river. Unfortunately, finding the river was the first part, because are they find it the trio would have to find the area in Aang's dream.

"She could teach you water bending, Aang!" Katara commented, her sky blue eyes never leaving the ground.

"Kiara could teach you as well!" Aang replied enthusiastically as he glanced at the waterbender.

Sokka scoffed, "If we could even find her."

* * *

"Let's stop somewhere, and set up camp. It's getting dark, there'll be no way we could find her when it's dark," Sokka replied as he stared at the setting sun that painted the skies in a series of different colours. Red mixed with deep oranges and purples as the sun set. The three friends grew tired from searching, and their massive animal companion also grew tired from flying above the forest slowly. Momo tugged on the water tribe warrior's hair in search of food, which irritated the boy.

"Alright, I'll land Appa," Aang replied glumly as he gripped the reins and guided Appa towards the forest floor where an empty area rested. The young Avatar was saddened at the fact that they couldn't find the girl that had bumped into Sokka earlier on that day. He was hoping to find his Apprentice with no trouble, and have her train him to master waterbending. Despite his hopes being crushed, Aang tried to have a light heart as he landed his companion. Katara unloaded their supplies off the saddle and passed it down to her brother who stood on the ground. With his feet spread apart, Aang took a deep breath as he air bended the large saddle off the animal's back.

"Sokka, could you help Aang get firewood? I'll set up the tents," Katara asked in a tone to not be questioned. Without waiting for a reply, the waterbender made her way towards a large bundle of fabrics and poles. Aang pulled the warrior away towards the trees to find firewood. He rolled his eyes as the water tribe warrior grumbled under his breath about being told what to do. The duo quickly returned with firewood

"Shouldn't Katara be back by now?" Sokka shrugged carelessly, not acknowledging the worrying airbender. "Let's go look for her. Appa, Momo, play nice,"

Grudgingly standing to his feet, Sokka trudged after the quick paced air nomad as they trekked through the forest. The forest now looked darker with the setting sun, which put them slightly on edge. They walked down the path they used to get the firewood and looked around for the stream that was nearby. After finding it by the hearing rushing water, the two boys walked down the stream in hopes of finding the waterbender. The air was moist, due to the coldness sweeping out of the ground. Aang and Sokka kept their eyes open for any sign of Katara. A loud groan was heard slightly more ahead from where the boys were, who glanced at each other and ran towards the noise. Aang took the lead as he propelled himself forwards using him airbending. He stopped abruptly, nearing causing Sokka to run into him. "Katara!"

The waterbender turned around tensely, and relaxed slightly when she realized who called her. However, Katara was in a wary and defensive stance, which was something boy boys noticed. Looking behind her, they saw another figure standing in a defensive stance as well. The figure was feminine, and stood in front of a large tree. Both girls was soaked, with their hair and clothing clinging to their bodies.

Sokka stepped up confused, "What's going on?"

The feminine figure wiped her hair out of her face as pointed an accusing finger at Katara, "She attacked me!"

Katara snapped her attention towards the accusing girl with an offended expression on her face, "You surprised me!"

"Woah, let's all calm down!" Aang stepped between both girls with his hands raised cautiously, in case there was another fight. "Now what happened?"

Before Katara could say anything, the other girl replied quickly with her hands on her hips, "Who are you anyways?"

Aang's attention turned towards the girl, and his eyes widened as he stared at her. Her deep ebony hair was now plastered to her forehead and clung to her back. Her once curly hair was now knotted from the water and plastered to her head. She wore a green dress that was wet and covered in grime, and was once again barefoot that was also caked in dirt. It was the girl from his dreams. He noticed she was alone, with no bags noticeable. It was clear that she was alone in the wilderness with no supplies. She certainly didn't appear to be the wilderness type.

"I'm Aang! I apologize for my friend's actions, want to come back to our camp? So you could be warm?" Aang asked, wanting to get on her good side. He didn't want his chance running away once more. The girl hesitated as her vibrant turquoise eyes stared at the young nomad warily. She shivered as a breeze blew by, being wet didn't make it any better for her. Subconsciously, her arms wrapped around her torso, desperate for heat.

"How do I know I could trust you?" She asked suspiciously as she narrowed her eyes at Katara once more. Ignoring the shivers that crept through her body, she stood her ground solidly to appear strong and confident.

From behind a silent Katara, Sokka rose an eyebrow at the pathetic looking girl, "We're not trying to _kill_ you or anything. We're offering food and shelter, and by the looks of it, you don't have anything."

Her stubborn jaw loosened slightly at the realization of the truth. It would just be stupid to refuse food and shelter that she was without. She averted her eyes to the ground before heaving out a defeated sigh, "I- um... Sure."

"Okay then! Come on!" Aang replied enthusiastically as he motioned her to follow him. He saw the girl eye Katara warily, who looked away guiltily. The dark-haired girl quickly gathered her small coin bag before following the air nomad. Aang attempted to have small talk with the dark-haired girl, only to receive short answers. Katara and Sokka took the lead as they walked back to the camp that was being watched by their animal companions. It was a short walk back to the camp, and was glad to find that their fire still remained. The dark haired girl instantly sat by the fire and held her hands out for the heat.

The three friends sat awkwardly on the other side of the fire, not knowing what to say to the cold girl. They took this time to observe the quiet girl who warmed herself up. Shivers raced through her body as she rubbed her bare arms for warmth.

"You're that girl that bumped into me earlier!" Sokka exclaimed, breaking the silence as he pointed a finger at her. Her turquoise eyes lifted to meet his, as she rose an eyebrow when a small smile grew on her face.

"Yeah, and you're that guy that made me drop my money from earlier," She repeated, mocking him with a smirk.

"Here," The girl looked up to find a pair of clothes that was held out in front of her face. Katara looked at the dark-haired girl guiltily, "Sorry, that I attacked you. You just surprised me is all. Here's some of my extra clothes that you could borrow,"

It was clear that the girl was surprised at the waterbender's generosity. Despite of Katara's apology, the girl couldn't help the suspiciousness that crept within her, "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive."

"Thanks."

Excusing herself, she walked into the forest slightly where the others couldn't see her before ridding herself of the grime covered dress. Sighing blissfully as she put on a fresh pair of blue clothes, she came back to the camp, "Well, I suppose I owe you guys my name," She exclaimed with an awkward chuckle, "I'm Kiara."

"I'm Katara! This is my brother, Sokka, and you know Aang already," Katara replied with an easy smile on her face as she motioned to the two boys.

"Why were you angry earlier before you bumped into me?" Sokka asked as he sat down on the ground, leaning against his arms. Kiara's attention turned to him as she frowned as she remembered the reason. She was quiet for a moment, debating to tell them or not.

Sighing, she replied, "I was angry at my parents."

"Why?" Aang asked suddenly, his curiosity taking over. Kiara looked down to the ground as she angrily pulled out grass.

"I-.. They were forcing me into an arranged marriage with some idiotic guy, who they claimed would help me _settle_ down. Just because I didn't want to act like a lady and actually have some fun in life, doesn't mean that they get to force me into some freaking relationship!" She ranted angrily, furiously ripped the grass out of the ground. Aang winced as she continued to yank the poor plants out of the earth.

"Is that why you were out in the forest?" Katara asked sympathetically as she began putting the pieces together. Nodding her confirmation, Kiara sighed as her anger began to disappear and stared miserably at the ground. She flicked her hair over her one shoulder as she played with the damp locks.

"Um, Kiara, could I ask you something?" Aang asked hesitantly, afraid she would take her anger out on him. Her vibrant turquoise eyes met his, and he felt the powerful feeling once more in the pit of his stomach. "Do you know of the Avatar's Apprentice?"

Kiara froze from her spot on the ground, her hand freezing from pulling out the grass. Her teeth bit down on her bottom lip as she averted her eyes from his. "Uh, nope. Who's that?"

The trio shared a glance between each other before Katara replied just as she did with Aang, "The Avatar had an Apprentice that would be a protector, advisor, and friend. He or she could bend two elements; the Avatar's home element and the one next in the cycle. The Apprentice reincarnates, just as the Avatar does,"

"Oh, do you know where the Apprentice is?" Kiara asked softly as she gazed into the fire, her expression unreadable. Aang sighed as he stared at the dark haired girl that was purposely avoiding everyone's gazes. She had pulled up her knees to her chest as she stared into the fire.

"We think so," Aang answered in a soft tone, "I had a dream where I knew the Apprentice. Kiara, you were the Apprentice in my dream,"

Her reply surprised everyone as she answered in a soft, defeated tone, "I know,"

"You know?" Aang asked incredulously, his face filled with surprise which made Kiara look up to him strangely.

"Duh! Who else could bend two elements? Also, I had the same dream," She closed her turquoise eyes as she waved her hand dismissively. Her free hand ran through her dampened hair.

Sokka closed his eyes in confusion as he held up his hand, "Wait a minute, you had the same dream as freaky boy over here?"

Instead of being offended by his tone, Kiara snorted, "Weird, I know." Her lips pulled into a frown suddenly, "But, I don't want to be the Apprentice,"

"What? Why?" It was Katara's turn to ask incredulously at Kiara. It was clear that Katara was shocked at her reply. Why wouldn't Kiara want to be the Apprentice who could bend two elements?

"I..I don't want to talk about it," Kiara told them, the tone of her voice made it clear that the conversation was over. Aang frowned at the girl that sat across the fire from him. He was used to having people being open about their thoughts and feelings with him. Yet, Kiara closed herself off, having walls built that kept others out. A sigh came out of her lips before Kiara gazed at the three friends curiously. "Where are you three headed?"

"To the North Pole!" Aang replied, letting the other topic go for now. For his mind was filled with travelling to the North Pole, and the adventures that they would take. Both of her eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Why?"

Sokka motioned towards the two benders, "So those two could learn how to be freaks,"

Katara's head snapped towards her brother with an irritated expression as she hit the back of his head, "Sokka! You're just jealous that we're benders!"

"We're going there to learn how to waterbend," Aang explained, ignoring the bickering siblings. Kiara looked at him intensely with her eyebrows furrowed together.

"Since you're the Avatar, shouldn't you already know how to waterbend?" She asked confused, making the others gap at her in surprise. Having the three friends gape at her made her lean back slightly. "What?"

"You know that he's the Avatar?" Sokka asked incredulously as he pointed his thumb in Aang's direction.

"Obviously, who else has airbender tattoos and is on their way to learn how to waterbend?!" Kiara snapped back, irritated at their staring. Flicking her hair off her forehead, she sighed as she stared at him.

Sokka rubbed the back of his head, "I-I guess so,"

"Anyways!" Aang replied, eyeing Sokka to see if he would interrupt again, "I was wondering, we wouldn't have to go to the North Pole if we had someone teach us waterbending. Could you teach us?" He asked hopefully.

"Sorry, I'm just as clueless as you when it comes to waterbending," Kiara apologized as she shrugged carelessly. Aang's shoulders slumped in defeat, along with Katara's who was listening intently. Silence followed shortly after as Aang stared glumly on the ground. His Apprentice didn't know how to waterbend, which crossed out his plan to have her teach him. Did that mean she didn't know how to airbend, which was a slim probability. They would have use their original plan, to travel to the North Pole.

"Tomorrow, we're going to head to Omashu to visit an old friend of mine!" Aang replied before the atmosphere got awkward again.

Looking down, Kiara bit her lip in thought, "Could I possibly come with you guys? I was going to travel there to visit my uncle, so you could drop me off there!"

"Sure! It'll be fun!" Katara answered for Aang enthusiastically, clasping her hands together as she smiled.

"We're leaving early, so let's get some sleep," Sokka told them as he began unzipping a deep blue sleeping bag. Realizing she didn't have anything to sleep with, Kiara leant against the nearest tree and relaxed her muscles. The breeze chilled her exposed arms and calves, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around herself. Despite her coldness, she muttered a small goodnight to the people that had given her generosity. The fire cackled as if begun to die down for lack of firewood. Her head was filled with thoughts, making it unable for her to sleep. Shaking her head, she closed her eyes attempting to sleep. Despite her occasional shiver, she found herself drifting off into cold darkness.

* * *

**_HUGE thank you to Sun Daughter for being my beta! ^^ _**

**_Like it? Hate it? Lemme know in a review!_**


	4. The King of Omashu

A cool breeze blew past me as Kiara involuntarily shivered from the coolness. Her legs curled towards herself from her laying position on the ground. She squeezed her eyes from the bright sun, and buried her head further into her arms. Goosebumps rose on her bare arms as she sleepily rubbed them for warmth. Groaning to have more sleep, she covered her ears when she heard people talking. Slowly, her turquoise eyes when she realized she couldn't sleep longer and squinted from the harsh light. Kiara sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes tiredly with a frown. Her dark hair messily covered her vision, a result from having a bed head.

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" An enthusiastic teasing voice greeted her, making her glare at Sokka as she rubbed her eyes more.

"Shut up, it's too early for this," She mumbled sleepily, yet knew that she couldn't sleep longer. Sokka smirked at her groggy state as he leaned against his sleeping bag. Looking around, she saw Katara was sewing a dark blue cloth that Kiara didn't care for. Aang sat further away from them with his back facing her, and he turned around when he heard her awaken.

Using airbending, Aang gracefully landed beside her with a wide grin on his face, "Good morning, Kiara! We're heading to Omashu now on Appa! You wouldn't wake up earlier, so Sokka carried you up on the saddle to sleep longer!"

Kiara blinked, taking in this information, "..What do you mean we're travelling to Omashu? How?"

"We're on Appa! We should be getting to Omashu in an hour or two!" Aang replied, disregarding the fact that they were in the vast blue sky as he gazed at the tall mountains in the horizon. Gaping, Kiara quickly looked around confusedly and noticed they were surrounded by the blue skies. Looking over the end curiously, she noticed they were indeed flying on a massive animal. Her stomach dropped at the large height difference. Gasping in fright, she backed away from the ledge shakily and stared up at Aang incredulously.

"W-we're flying?! That's impossible! How? What are we on?!" Kiara cried out frantically with her arm flailing in front of her, confused at her sudden surroundings. Sokka snickered at the panicking girl, who sent him a glare. Aang held out his hands, and motioned for her to calm herself down. To stop herself from asking more questions, she bit down on her lip and stared up at Aang pleadingly.

"We're on my flying bison, his name is Appa!" Aang explained to her in a calm tone, calming her slightly. A loud groan rumbled from underneath them at the mentioned name.

Kiara bit her lip and replied shakily, "Oh.. That's lovely," Sighing to rid herself of her nervous thoughts, she ran her fingers through her messy hair. Mumbling occasional grunts of pain as she yanked on knots that settled in her hair with her fingers. Despite her attempts of softening the rattled hair, it remained knotted and messy. Her bottom lip pulled out in a pout as she rubbed a sore spot on her head from her yanking.

"Here, let me help," Katara said, taking pity on the pouting girl as she gently ran her fingers through Kiara's help. Muttering a small okay, Kiara slumped her shoulders in defeat as Katara's nimble fingers expertly fixed the knots. She felt as if she was a small child being taken care of. Sokka tossed an apple at Kiara, who carefully caught it with one hand. Biting into the juicy fruit, Kiara looked down to her grime covered dress that she had worn yesterday. She would have to buy clothes when they get to Omashu that wasn't fur lined like the clothes Katara lent to her. With the money she had in her small coin purse, Kiara knew she could buy a set or two of clothes and a pair of shoes. That thought in mind, Kiara felt excitement as they flew closer to the mountains where Omashu was located.

"So, Aang, I have a question for you," Kiara asked curiously as she eyed the airbender's back. Turning around from being called, Aang looked at the dark haired girl questioningly. "How are you alive? I heard the Avatar was back, but how?" She stammered slightly, trying to word her sentence properly without offending him.

Aang smiled before answering, "When I turned twelve, the monks at the air temple called me in-"

"Wait, wait, wait! What do you mean monks? The air nomads were killed off!" Kiara interrupted bluntly as she stared at him in disbelief.

The air nomad gave her an annoyed look at the interruption, "If you gave me a chance to explain, then I could tell you!"

Smiling sheepishly, Kiara's eyes stared up to him guiltily, "My bad, go on?"

"Anyways, when they called me into a meeting, they had told me that I was the Avatar. In most cases, they would have told me when I was sixteen but instead they told me when I turned twelve. To start my Avatar training, they wanted to send me away to another air temple, where I could be separated from my mentor that I was extremely close to. I didn't want to be the Avatar, so I ran away from home on Appa during a storm. We crashed into the ocean, and I was knocked unconscious. The next thing I knew, I was being woken up by Katara and Sokka in the South Pole. Apparently, I was snuck in an iceberg for over a hundred years! Technically, I am a hundred and twelve year old monk!" Aang explained, laughing at the end as he thought about his technical age. Kiara made a noise of disbelief as she stared up at him through her long lashes.

"What? How is that even possible?" Kiara asked incredulously with her eyes wide from his story, and her mouth slightly open. Finishing unknotting the dark hair, Katara moved so she sat beside the surprised girl with a smile on her face.

"It's true," Katara supplied as Kiara gently ran her fingers through her soft locks. "I don't know how it's possible, but it happened!"

Kiara hummed as she stared at the hundred year old airbender that somehow survived the monstrous devastation of the air nomads. She wondered to herself if Aang knew of the mass killing of the air nomads, however she didn't want to ask nor say anything. Kiara had found herself to believe in the most impossible things recently. Finding the Avatar whose over a hundred, that is an air bender, who owns a massive flying bison, those are the upmost impossible things that Kiara found herself believing in. Looking around, she noticed that they had flown into the mountainous terrain that caught her breath as she looked around in awe. Large mountains reached high in the blue skies and seemed comforting. Guessing that they were nearing Omashu, Kiara felt excitement building in her stomach as she twirled a lock of her hair around her finger. Aang spotted an appropriate place to land the flying bison, and steered him towards a flat area of land. Kiara's stomach flew as they quickly descended to the ground as she attempted not to hurl on the saddle. Once Appa settled on the ground, Kiara grabbed her coin purse and immediately jumped off the ledge of the saddle towards the ground. Instead of landing gracefully on her feet like she wanted to, Kiara stumbled forward and fell flat on her face into the dirt.

"Ow," She moaned quietly in pain as she slowly rolled over to sit on her bottom. Her hand rubbed soothingly on her aching jaw as she looked up to find all three friend staring down at her in amusement. Fighting the blush that crept up her face, she looked away stubbornly.

"You could have walked down Appa's tail, you know," Sokka told her smugly as he walked down the wide furry tail. He's right foot caught with his left and came tumbling down the tail with a yelp.

Rolling her eyes at him, she slowly got to her feet feeling slightly dizzy from the descend. As she took a step forward, she froze as she held her head in pain, "Oh, stood up to fast,"

"Flying will get easier, trust me," Katara stated sympathetically as she patted Kiara's shoulder comfortingly.

Kiara snorted, "I just hope so," She shivered as a cool mountain breeze blew past as she noticed the snow that had begun to melt from the winter. Walking behind Aang towards a cliff, she looked up to find fog that had risen at the base of the mountain. At the peak of the mountain was a large city was was carved into the rock that looked similar to a pyramid shape. The city gave off a peaceful and magnificent aura. Kiara's eyes had widened awe as she stared at the magnificent city.

"Welcome to the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu!" Aang exclaimed as he motioned towards the mountainous city. A large grin grew on the air nomad's face as he recalled, "I used to come here all the time to visit my friend Bumi!"

"Wow!" Katara exclaimed in awe at the magnificent city with wide eyes, "We don't have cities like this in the South Pole!"

"They have buildings here that don't melt!" Sokka added, just as awe struck as his sister. Kiara snorted at their statements as she put her hands on her hips.

"What were you expecting? We're in the Earth Kingdom! Not some frozen pole!" Kiara retorted sarcastically, making Sokka give her a half-hearted glare before turning his gaze to the beautiful city. It seemed as if it was separated from the rest of the world, in the middle of the mountainous terrain.

"Well come on! Let's go, slow pokes! The real fun is inside the city!" Aang replied enthusiastically, nearing bouncing around on the spot from excitement. He pushed off the ground using airbending and jumped high in the cool air, heading towards the city. Aang begun skidding down the snowy hill towards the path that led to the large city.

"Wait, Aang!" Katara called out with her arm outstretched, "It could be dangerous if people find out you're the Avatar!"

"You need a disguise!" Sokka told the air nomad that was perched on a snowy boulder with his staff balancing him at his side. The water tribe warrior eyed the tattoo on the air nomad's head, to cover his identity of being an airbender.

Aang rose an eyebrow at his statement in confusion, "Then what am I supposed to do? Grow a mustache?"

Suddenly, a large grin appeared on Sokka's face that put Kiara on edge as he ran back towards the flying bison. He grabbed rope from one of the supplies bag, and took handfuls on loose fur on Appa's back. Which caused an annoyed groan from the said animal. Sokka raced back to Aang with handfuls of fur, and hurriedly tied the fur on the bald nomad's head, securing it with ropes. The water tribe warrior stepped back, tapping his chin in thought as he stared at the air nomad who seemed uncertain about this situation.

Kiara stepped up, grabbing the rest of the fur from Sokka's free hand and placed it underneath Aang's nose while snickering in amusement. Sokka smirked at Kiara's artwork and gave her a thumbs up. Aang twitched his nose, making his makeshift moustache wiggle. He groaned in irritation, "This is so itchy! Appa, how do you live in this stuff?"

"Great! Now, you look just like my grandfather!" Sokka commented as he perched himself on a large boulder.

Kiara rose an eyebrow and glanced between each boy, "Technically, from what you guys told me, Aang is a hundred and twelve years old!"

Aang twirled his staff around his fingers expertly before using it as a walking stick and comically hunched his back, appearing more like an elderly man. Aang turned towards the three amused friends, and called out in a raspy voice. "C'mon, let's get to skippy, young whipper snappers! The big city awaits!"

Kiara snickered loudly at the scene before hurrying after the hunched boy with the siblings trailing behind. Sokka and Katara exchange a glance as they walked behind their supposedly grandfather.

* * *

Kiara stared glumly at the long path that led to the great city, with long drops on either side of them. Her feet ached from their long walk, and begun to form blisters which throbbed endlessly. As they walked forward, she heard Aang tell them that the people that lived in the city were supposedly the friendliest people that they would ever meet. Kiara doubted that as she witnessed the guard that stood at the entrance of the great wall earthbend a cartful of cabbages over the ledge as they yelled at the cabbage owner who wailed loudly. A nervous feeling came to Kiara as they approached the intimidating guards at the entrance. "Just keep smiling," Aang murmured to them, under his breath as he took the lead. Forcing a smile on her face, Kiara stood close to the siblings, feeling uneasy at the guards' gazes.

The leader of the guards stepped forwards and earthbent a boulder over Aang's head as he demanded, "State your business!"

Aang rushed up to the guard and angrily poked him in the chest, "My business is my business, young man, and none of yours! I have half a mind to bend you over my knee and paddle your backside!"

"Alright, settle down, old timer! Just tell me who you are," The guard replied, attempting to calm the angry air nomad who was giving him a stink eye.

"Name's Bonzu Pippinpaddlee- Oppsokopolis the Third!" Aang replied in a proud tone, completely making everything from the top of his head with a toothy smile, "-And these are my grandkids!"

Katara stepped forward with a large false smile on her face with a friendly wave, "Hi! June Pippinpaddlee- Oppsokopolis. Pleased to meet you,"

Kiara shuddered as the guards eyed her suspiciously, so she stepped up on the other side of Aang with a false smile. It was obvious that she wasn't related to Katara and Sokka because she had darker hair with a paler complexion. Gently, she put a hand on Aang's shoulder, "I'm their cousin, Kai. It's lovely to meet you, sir,"

The guard glanced between all four friend as he stroked his beard thoughtfully. Kiara's heart was nearly up to her throat in nervousness and wondered how Aang and Katara was lying with perfect ease. Her hands were innocently clasped in front of herself and begun to get clammy from the tension. The guard pointed between Katara and Kiara, "You two seem like responsible young ladies. See that your grandfather doesn't get into any trouble. Enjoy Omashu,"

Kiara nearly let out a sigh of relief as the armoured guard stepped aside to let their group pass through the entrance. With her smile place innocently on her face, she walked beside Aang as they passed the guards. Her heart stopped as she froze when the guard halted their group with a demanding tone. His large tanned hand stopped Sokka as he passed by him, making Sokka turn around in fright. "You're a strong, young boy. Show some respect to the elderly, and carry your grandfather's bag!"

Kiara exhaled in relief as Aang smiled smugly and carelessly tossed his bag to Sokka, "Good idea!"

The protective walls opened as the group walked by, amazing all four of them. Kiara gripped the ledge excitedly as they observed the great city of Omashu. You had to crane your neck upwards to see the peak of the city, and the rest of the city. Buildings propped up from the mountain, each having similar green tiling. Aang pointed out the delivery shoots that seemed to come up from every direction possible, and how they used earthbending for their system. Unamused, Sokka motioned towards the delivery shoots, "Great, so they get their mail on time,"

"They do get their mail on time!" Aang exclaimed, oblivious to Sokka's unamused tone, then smirked evilly, "But my friend Bumi found a better use for these shoots,"

* * *

Kiara found herself staring down the city in horror soon after. They were at a tremendous height that had a dangerously steep slope in front of them. The dark haired girl was squished between both siblings and clutched the sides tightly as they sat in a mail chute that tipped dangerously. She began regretting to agreeing to Aang's idea of 'fun' as her stomach began to rise at the sight of their steep slope. Aang, who seated himself at the front, turned around with a grin, "One ride, then we're off to the North Pole, airbender's honor!"

"Uh, after this, I need to get new clothes," Kiara stated, unamused that he had forgotten her need of new clothing. He grinned sheepishly at the unamused teenager.

"After that, then we go to the North Pole," Aang fixed himself as Kiara nodded stubbornly in agreement. She felt shaking in front of her, and she looked forward to find Katara in the same situation as she was. Her eyes stared in horror at Aang's idea of 'fun' as her tanned hands gripped the sides tightly.

"This sounded like fun at first, but now that I'm here, I'm starting to have second tho-" Katara was cut off as she screamed when Aang pushed their cart off the sturdy ground and down the steep slope. Kiara joined in on the screaming as the forced air pushed her into Sokka as they descended quickly downwards. Aang's laughter filled her ears as he grinned in excitement. Kiara's untied hair flew wildly behind her, into Sokka's face who angrily cried out.

"Get your hair out of my mouth!" He cried out as he turned his head to avoid having another mouthful of hair.

Despite their current situation, Kiara scoffed at Sokka, "Get your mouth of out my hair!" Gasping as a cartful of spears came rushing up behind them, Kiara ducked to avoid being stabbed. Determined, Aang tilted their cart side to side before they tipped off the track and onto a roof. Screaming at the top of her lungs as they began to fall directionless, Kiara grabbed onto Sokka in fright as they past a group of soldiers in training. Katara cried out to Aang to use his airbending to slow them down, however, Aang took her statement the wrong way. Pushing a gust of air, their cart went faster than ever. Kiara cried out in horror as they flew in mid air, "We're gonna die!"

Crash landing on a cartful of cabbages, Kiara was shot out of her spot and onto the cold concrete ground. Pain shot through her torso as she landed on her stomach, her face being pushed against the concrete. Kiara yelped as the other three landed on top of her rather harshly, yet was too stunned to move. The owner of the cabbage cried out in horror as his cabbages had gotten destroyed, grabbing the attention of nearby guards. The guards stood around their fallen group threateningly, and Kiara instantly knew they were in trouble.

"Two cabbages, please," Aang asked weakly, knowing fully well that they were in serious trouble. Kiara rolled her eyes at Aang's attempt to lighten the situation before her attention went to the people laying on top of her and them squishing her ribcage.

"C-can you guys get off me? C-can't breathe down here," Kiara wheezed out, grabbed their attention. Aang hurriedly airbent off them as landed gracefully on his feet, only to be grabbed harshly by the guards. Katara stood to her feet instantly and dusted herself off, while her brother groaned in pain as well.

Twitching in annoyance, Kiara shoved Sokka off of her body and took a deep breath to let the oxygen flow through her lungs. Sokka yelped as he was shoved off before turning to glare at the accused girl, who shot him a glare back. Their glaring battle was cut off by guards who quickly grabbed them and heaved them to their feet. Kiara winced at the sudden movement, and her torso throbbed in pain from their landing. For the second time that day, Kiara's jaw throbbed from falling, and she pouted as she rubbed the sore bone. She couldn't help but feel as if she was a small child that was caught stealing cookies. Her shoulders sagged in defeat as they were being led towards the palace for their punishment sentence from the king. The guards never handcuffed them, which Kiara was quite thankful for, since she was already in pain. She walked closely next to Sokka, who walked behind Katara and Aang. The palace was large and spacious, and was lit up by mysterious glowing crystals. The crystals glowed a bright, eerie green that made Kiara gaze in awe. Their group were forced down to their knees in front of the throne that the elderly king sat upon. He was dressed in high class robes, with an odd crown that stood straight up. Kiara shuddered from his intense gaze that made him look menacing and crazy.

"Your majesty," The lead guard began, "These juveniles were arrested for vandalism, traveling under false pretenses, and malicious destruction of cabbages,"

Kiara glared coldly and stuck her tongue at the cabbage owner as he cried out, "Off with their heads! One for each cabbage!"

Irritated, the lead guard demanded, "Silence! Only the king could pass judgement,"

At that moment, all four accused friends attempted to look innocent as the kind stared down at them with his mismatched eyes. Kiara wouldn't have thought she would be in Omashu, waiting for the king's judgement for their reckless behaviour just the previous week. Her turquoise eyes stared at the king and shuddered once more. It felt as though he could see right through her, and knew something she didn't. The king hummed in thought before he cried out, "Throw them a feast!"

The cabbage cried out in protest, while the guards gaped at their king in surprise. Aang exchanged a confused glance with the water tribe siblings while Kiara stared at the kind incredulously, "You gotta be kidding, right?"

* * *

The atmosphere was tight with awkwardness as the group found themselves dining with the king with many different types of food laid out before them. Kiara sat between both boys of the group and wanted nothing more than to leave this city that was filled with madness. Underneath the table, her legs were crossed and her foot that dangled in the air bounced with anticipation. Silently, Kiara picked at her plate of food and pursed her lips tightly to avoid announcing how awkward it was. She through a glare at Sokka's disgusting table manners before biting into a slice of bread. The king came up behind them and explained to them how his people began getting fat from his feasts, resulting in skinless chicken. Aang politely declined and explained to the elderly king about him being a vegertarian. The king shoved the chicken in Sokka's mouth, who happily ate the meat. The king sat at the opposing end of the table and stared at the four of them with his mismatched eyes, "So, tell me young bald one, where are you from?"

"I'm from.. Kangaroo Island!" Aang supplied through his lying teeth as he attempted to be casual about it.

"Kangaroo Island, hey? I hear that place is really hoppin'!" The king commented with a serious tone. The room was silent as the group never laughed at the humorless joke. Kiara looked around awkwardly to avoid having eye contact with the king.

Then, Sokka burst out in laughter as he comically wiped away a tear. Kiara stared at the warrior with a dead panned expression on her face, making Sokka's laughter die down. "What? It was funny,"

A loud yawn came out of the King's mouth as he stretched, "Well, all these good jokes have made me tired. Guess it's time to it the hey," He stood to his feet, then whipped two drumsticks towards towards Kiara and Aang who reacted by creating a gust of air to stop the hurtling drumstick from hitting him. Unfortunately, Kiara didn't have such quick reflexes as the airbender did and the drumstick bounced off her forehead with a thump. Gasping in shock and concern, Kiara hurriedly looked over Aang to see if he was harmed in any way, ignoring her headache that had been formed from the drumstick. Suddenly she stopped looking over Aang and stared down at the table in shock. She wondered why she had gotten completely worried over the boy who she simply officially met the previous night. There was a strong pull in her stomach as she stared at Aang that had her wondering about it.

"There's an airbender in our presence!" The King stated, "-And not just any airbender, but the Avatar! Along with his Apprentice! What do you two have to say for yourselves, Mr. Pippinpaddlee- Oppsokopolis and Kai?"

Kiara's slice of bread dropped to the table as she froze with shock. Her eyes widened and gaped as she was frozen to her spot on the table. Gasping at the King's statement, Aang hurriedly stopped his airbending as he had gotten caught and stood to his feet, "Okay, you caught me! I'm the Avatar, just doing my Avatar thing, keeping the world safe. Everything's checked out, no firebenders here!"

Kiara wanted to hit her head on the table as Aang rambled uselessly. He pulled on her arm to stand up, and their group nervously stepped backwards towards the exit of the dining hall. "So, good work everybody! Love each other! Respect all life and don't ram it with your spears. We'll see you next time!"

The guards blocked their way with their spears, and Kiara felt anger boil as she realized that the king was keeping them as hostage, "Let us go! There's no use for you to keep us here as prisoners!"

Katara had felt the same way, "Let us leave!"

The king rose an eyebrow as he bit on a lettuce leaf, "Lettuce leaf?"

Wanting to scream in frustration at the crazy king, Kiara took a deep breath in order to calm herself. Sokka leaned over with his hand up to his mouth, "We're in serious trouble, this guy is nuts!"

"Tomorrow, the Avatar will face three deadly challenges. But for now, the guards will lead you to your chamber," The king told them seriously. Kiara rolled her eyes as the king and the guard uselessly chatted over which chamber to use. Her nervousness disappeared and was replaced with frustration as the guards lead them away from the dining hall. The guards lead them down several halls and staircases that were all well decorated. Their group was harshly pushed into a large spacious room. There were four large beds placed in the center of the room, with green bedding on top that matched everything else in the room.

"This is a prison cell? But it's so nice!" Katara asked in disbelief.

"He did say it was newly refurbished!" Aang supplied lightly as he observed their room.

Sokka scoffed, "Nice or not, we're prisoners!" Kiara frowned as she realized that what the warrior stated was true. Angrily, she flopped down onto the nearest bed and heaved a great sigh.

Aang frowned worriedly as he fiddled with his staff nervously, "I wonder what these challenges are going to be,"

"Well, I don't want to stick around to find out," Kiara retorted as she knocked on the area that the guards pushed them in. She half heartedly paid attention as the others attempted to find a way to escape. Aang attempted to push the flying lemur through one of the tiny air vents, however, his belly was too filled to squeeze through.

Kiara banged noisily on the wall with her fist as she yelled out angrily, "Hey! Guards! What if I need to use the bathroom, huh? Or a bath?"

She squealed and stepped backwards as the wall dropped, revealing two irritated guards. Sassily, she placed her hands on her hips as she rose an eyebrow at them. "Come with me to the bathroom, and no funny business!"

A sense of success ran through her as she through a smirk over her shoulder at the three bewildered friends before following the guards out of the room. It was silent as she followed them down another hallway. Kiara hummed as she leaned forward towards the guards, "So, do you two know anything about those challenges?"

One guard moved his head towards her with a stoic expression on his face, not replying to her curious question. Frowning angrily, Kiara crossed her arms over her chest as they stopped in front of a door.

"There will be guards outside, so don't think of any funny business," He warned her as she stepped through the wooden door. Closely the door behind her, Kiara sighed as she was finally in peace. Walking towards the mirror, Kiara grimaced at her grimey reflexion as he body was covered in dirt and dust. Stripping herself of Katara's blue clothes, Kiara stepped into the warm bath and sighed heavily. She never had a bath ever since she left her hometown that morning. Not wanting to be cut short of her bathing, Kiara immediately grabbed hair soap and lathered it in her dark hair to cleanse it from the grime. After rinsing the soap, she grabbed a bar of soap and washed her body from the dirt. Kiara focussed on her feet where most of the dirt was, and remembered how it had gotten that dirty. The previous morning, she tore off her heeled shoes because they were causing blisters to form. Kiara had also rid herself of those shoes because she had a hard time walking without falling.

Her mind wandered to dinner earlier, and how that crazy kind knew she was the Apprentice. Shuddering from the memory, Kiara frowned as she realized that more people would realize who she was. All she had wanted was to come to Omashu to start a new life, and buy new clothes. After Aang's deadly challenges, they would leave to go to the North Pole while Kiara stayed behind. She hadn't thought of her plan thoroughly enough, since she was stumped on where to go now that she was in Omashu. Perhaps she could eventually make her way to the greatest Earth Kingdom city in the world, Ba Sing Sae. Kiara could travel the world on her own, having little jobs here and there to make money.

The guards outside knocked on the door, informing her that she was to get out of the bath and go back towards her chamber. Kiara groaned in irritation as she had just begun to relax in the warm water that soothed her aching torso. Quickly drying herself off with a towel from the shelf, Kiara slipped on her clothes before walking of out the warm room.

* * *

Sitting on the middle of the green covered bed, Kiara absent mindedly fiddled with a lock of her dark hair between her fingers. When she returned from her bath, she came back to find her newly acquainted friends laying down on their respective beds attempting to fall asleep. Kiara wondered if they were worrying about those challenges as she was. Since she was left to her thoughts to entertain her, Kiara realized that two days ago, she wouldn't have dreamed to be in an Omashu prison with the Avatar. Despite the massive massacre of the air nomads, somewhere deep down, Kiara had a feeling that the Avatar cycle still continued on. Everyone around her had believed that the Avatar failed them, and there was no hope left in the world. She nearly snorted out loud as she wondered what their reactions would be if she came back to her hometown with the Avatar by her side. Then she frowned as she realized that people would know that she was the Apprentice. Sighing at that thought, Kiara flopped down on her bed and stared at the ceiling through her dark lashes. The crystals that had lit up the room mysteriously dimmed down as they attempted to sleep.

"Kiara?" A small voice whispered to her, jolting her out of her thoughts. Kiara rolled onto her stomach and glanced around looking for the source of the voice. Aang's face appeared in her vision as his large stormy eyes stared at her with a worried expression crossed his face. He was laying on his stomach like the dark haired girl was, and his muscles were tense with worry.

"Yeah?" Kiara whispered back, not wanting to awaken the sleeping siblings.

Aang looked down to his hands appearing more like a twelve year old child more than ever, "I don't know what these challenges are tomorrow. What if I can't do it?"

Her heart warmed at his appearance, and Kiara smiled softly at the air nomad, "I'm sure you can do it, Aang. Whatever these challenges are, you just have to keep an open mind about things. Someone once told be that there is more that could meet the eye, so maybe you could do that,"

Her statement seemed to lighten the air bender as his eyes looked up to meet hers for reassurance, "You think I could do it?"

"Definitely. Don't worry about it, kid! I know you could do it," Kiara replied as she snuggled into the soft bedding. Exhaustion began to hit her after the events from earlier, and she wanted nothing more than to sleep. Aang hummed brightly from her reassurance, and the blankets rustle from him getting underneath his blankets.

"Kiara?" Groggily, she hummed, showing him that she was listening to him. Aang continued sleepily, "Are you coming to the North Pole with us? You could learn waterbending with us,"

Her eyes opened sharply at his question. Her mind raced with different thoughts. She could learn waterbending and airbending to fulfill her destiny that she had been ignoring. Kiara could protect Aang, and always be at his side, just like her dreams that she had been having recently. Kiara could decline and travel the world alone, without any duties or responsibilities. As good as that sounded, Kiara couldn't help but realize how lonely that would be. She could travel with the Avatar, and not be alone anymore. Biting down on her bottom lip, Kiara thought about her decision.

"You don't have to decide now, I don't want to rush you," Aang told her sleepily, as he yawned and snuggled into his pillow. Kiara frowned in dismay because the young airbender was filled with hope of her joining them on their journey north. Shaking her head, Kiara attempted to drift off to sleep which was completely hard. Considering the events that happened to her earlier on that day.

* * *

Groaning loudly in irritation and slight pain in her abdomen, Kiara squeezed her eyes tightly from the harsh light that threatened to wake her up. She felt as though someone had kicked her in the abdomen and left her laying on the ground. The air around her was chilly as she shuddered from coldness. Her conscious slowly drifted back to her as she opened her eyes to find the world had flipped upside down. It seemed she was standing on the ceiling with her hair dangling all around her. A grunt from underneath her rumbled through her body as she looked down at what she was laying on. Kiara jumped in sudden fright and realization as she faced a man's back. His back was covered in deep green armour. She realized she must have been dangling off his shoulder as he walked down a hallway. Confusion crossed herself as she frantically looked around. Kicking her legs in the air, Kiara pounded on his back in an attempt to free herself, "Let me go, you freak!"

"Nice of you to join the party," She heard Sokka's dry voice greet her as she whipped her head to find him walking beside her captive, jolting her out of freeing herself. Katara walked beside him, and gave Kiara a bewildered look. Both siblings were being held captive as they walked in front of two armoured guards.

"How in the world could you sleep through this?" Katara asked in bewilderment, making Kiara shrugged carelessly.

"I'm a heavy sleeper," She simply said as she attempted to look over her captive's arm to look where they were headed. With no avail of looking at their destination, she tapped her captive's helmet in an attempt to capture his attention. "Hey, guard? You're hurting me! Let me down!"

With two hands gripping her waist, the guard roughly grabbed her off his shoulder and on the ground roughly. Kiara winced as she rubbed her abdomen that ached from being pressed against metal armour. Sokka put a hand on her shoulder sympathetically as they continued walking straight. Kiara was halted as they stopped in front of Aang and the King. The airbender turned around relieved at the sight of his friends. The king waved his hand, and three guards came up towards the captives with crystals between their fingers. Kiara watched in confusion as a guard slipped the crystal on her index finger. Exchanging a glance with Sokka, Kiara inspected the purple crystal that contrasted against her slightly tanned skin. The crystal crept up her finger slowly, making her yelp in horror. Frantically, Kiara wrapped her left hand around the crystal and attempted to slip the creeping crystal off her finger.

"Those delightful rings are made of pure jennamite, also known as creeping crystal," The king explained as he watched the creeping crystals before turning to look down at the worried air nomad, "It's a crystal that grows remarkably fast. By nightfall your friends will be completely covered in it. Terrible fate really. I can stop it, but only if you cooperate."

"Ah! It's already creeping!" Sokka yelped as he stared in horror at his dark blue crystal. Kiara worriedly glanced down at her crystal that slowly crept over her knuckle.

"Take this off my hand, right now!" Kiara demanded, holding her hand out towards the king. He smirked at the demanding dark haired girl, looking more crazed than ever.

"Only if the Avatar could finish these three tasks," The king smirked, at the bewildered look on her face. Aang glanced between each of his friends before turning towards the crazed kind with a stony expression on his pale face, "I'll do what you want,"

* * *

Jumping from several different rock pillars to another, Aang airbent his way to the center of the rock filled room. In the center of the room was a single waterfall falling down rapidly. The first task that Aang had to finish to retrieve the king's key that dangled in the middle of the rapid waterfall. Kiara watched anxiously as he attempted several times to climb the ladder that was placed inside the water and failed miserably. The king mocked his strategy with a smirk as he watched from a safe platform with Kiara, Katara and Sokka. Despite their crystal creeping over their right shoulders, the captured trio gave Aang encouraging cheers and smiles. Kiara sucked in a sharp breath as she watched the air nomad fall from the waterfall and towards the deathly sharp rocks. Thinking quickly, Aang stopped his fall by using his arms and legs against two pillars.

"My arm is itchy," Kiara complained as she stared at her crystal covered arm, before glaring angrily at the cackling king, "Take this off me this instant!"

"No," The king's reply made Kiara fume with anger as stomped her foot. Although she felt like a child, Kiara just wished for the damned crystal to get off her arm. Her attention went back to Aang who yanked off a tip of a rock pillar and propelled it towards the key. It cut through the cascading water and snatched the key before digging into the wall.

"There!" Aang yelled out, "Enjoy your lunch, I want my friends back now!"

"Oh, not yet." The king denied clasping his hands together, "I need help with another matter. It seems I've lost my pet Flopsie."

* * *

Watching pathetically from the railing that overlooked a dirt pen, Kiara frowned as Aang attempted to catch a small bunny into his arms. This time, the King wanted Aang to find his lost pet and give it to him. However, Kiara couldn't concentrate properly because her attention was focussed on the purple crystal that was creeping up her neck. Her turquoise eyes returned to Aang, who was frantically running after a long eared bunny, while a monstrous goat gorilla chased after him. Even with him propelled himself forward with his airbending, the goat gorilla was fast on Aang's trail. The small bunny cowardly ran into a hole, and Aang reached inside desperately. His eyebrows furrowed together as he stared at the monstrous animal charging towards him in thought. Hesitantly, Aang flinched as he called out uncertainly, "Flopsie?"

Suddenly, the goat gorilla stopped charging at the air nomad and sat in front of Aang curiously. His tail wagged wildly as he tilted his head at the bewildered airbender. A loud whistle caught the animal's attention as he obediently went to his master's aid. The king cooed at the goat gorilla, rubbing his large belly fondly. Hurriedly, Aang went up to his captured friends with a concerned expression on his face, "Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just dandy sitting here in this lovely crystal that's creeping all over me," Kiara replied sarcastically, just as crystals covered half her face, with her eyes just popping out.

Ignoring the sarcastic dark haired girl, Katara snarked out, "Other than the crystal slowly encasing my body? Doing great!"

Just after Katara snarked out her reply, more crystals grew on Sokka, creating an unbalance. Sokka yelped as he tipped over from the uneven balance, and laid on the ground helplessly. Aang sighed sympathetically before turning towards the cooing king determinedly with his hands perched on his hips. He stated that he was ready for his next challenge, and unease grew over him as a large mischievous grin grew on the aged king.

* * *

"Why would he choose the king?!" Kiara sighed disappointedly as she watched Aang attempting to evade the flying rocks that were being hurled at him. The airbender chose the king for a duel, and was frightenly fascinated as the king stood to his full height. The apparent frail king was built with large muscles, and was the strongest earthbender that any of the four friends had ever seen. The poor airbender was being tossed around the room like a rag doll.

"I don't know," Katara replied in a frightened tone. More crystals grew over Kiara's face, completely covering her vision and all she saw were purple crystals. She took in a sharp breath as she realized that she was now completely immobile and blind.

"Great, and now I'm blind!" Kiara groaned loudly. Her body desperately wanting to move freely, and begun to ache. She heard gusts of wind, and loud thumps from below their balcony where they stood. "What's going on?"

"Aang's creating a tornado!" Sokka answered to her left in fascination. Frowning at her situation, Kiara now had to rely on Sokka and Katara to be the commentaries of the duel. From her right, she heard Katara gasp sharply at the duel.

"What about now?" Kiara asked hurriedly over the rushing wind, desperately wanting to know what was going on.

"The king just chucked a big rock at Aang, and it flew back at him by Aang's tornado!" Sokka answered in awe, "Now Aang got him!"

Kiara heard distant talking from below her, indicating that Aang and the king were talking lowly. She stumbled on her feet as the ground rumbled greatly to her right, and wind blew against her purple crystals. The raspy voice from the king caught her ears, "You've passed all my tests, now you must answer one question,"

"That's not fair!" Aang's voice shouted in frustration, "You said you'd release my friends if I passed your tests!"

"What's the point if you don't learn anything?" The king drawled out with a mischievous edge to his voice.

"What the hell? Just release us already!" Kiara shouted from her crystals angrily, just as Sokka groaned in annoyance from the king's statement.

"Answer this one question, and I will set your friends free," The king bargained, "What is my name?"

There was a pause of silence before the king continued, "Oh, look, your other friends will soon join your Apprentice there,"

"Hey! How do you know that?" Kiara demanded, yet was ignored as she heard him walk in the opposite direction and scowled. How in the world did he know who she was? The Apprentice doesn't have any unique appearance that identifies her as the Apprentice, as Aang does with his tattoos. Knows that the king knows who she was put Kiara on edge.

"How am I supposed to know his name?" Aang asked in confusion.

"Think about the challenges." Katara suggested, desperately wanting to escape the crystals, "Maybe it's some kind of riddle!"

Sokka exclaimed from Kiara's left, "I got it!"

"Yeah?" Aang asked hopefully.

"He's an Earthbender right? Rocky!" Sokka explained excitedly, "You know because of all the rocks!"

Kiara scoffed and moved her body towards Sokka, indicating that she was talking to him , "Sokka, that's the stupidest thing I ever heard!"

"We're gonna keep trying, but that is good backup" Katara ignored Kiara's reply as she stated desperately.

"Okay, so back to the challenges." Aang said thoughtfully, ignoring all three of his friends, "I got a key from a waterfall, I saved his pet, and I had a duel."

"What did you learn then?" Kiara asked, beginning to get impatient from the entire situation.

"Well…" Aang muttered, "Everything was different than I expected."

Katara encouraged the air nomad on, "And?

Aang muttered quietly to himself, "Well, they weren't straightforward. To solve each test, I had to think differently than I usually would,"

Silence came shortly after, and Kiara guessed that Aang was thinking deeply of the crazy, elderly king's name, "I know his name,"

* * *

Hurriedly, Aang led the group down the hallway towards the throne room. The air nomad led the blind, dark haired girl towards the throne room with a hand on her crystal covered back. Kiara felt completely vulnerable from her lack of movement and eye sight. Aang told her to stand in her spot as he went to speak with the king, "I solved the question the same way I solved the challenges." Aang explained as he stood in front of the king, who was now wearing his robes one more, "As you said a long time ago, I had to open my brain to the possibilities."

The king smirked as he began laughing wildly, snorting and hiccuping occasionally. Aang smiled as he looked at the cackling earthbender, "Bumi, you're a mad genius,"

Kiara rolled her eyes impatiently as the two old friends had a touching reunion, "That's great and all, but as much as I like the colour purple, get me out of here!"

In a split second, the crystals shattered in many pieces around Kiara's feet, and light bathed her body. Exhausted from standing the entire day, Kiara fell to her knees in relief. Looking to her left, she noticed that Katara and Sokka had also been released from the creeping crystals. Each sibling wore a relieved expression on their faces as Kiara did.

"Jennamite is made of rock candy," Bumi stated as he took a bite out of the piece of crystal in his hand, "Delicious!"

Katara walked up to the reunited friends and pointed to the aged king, "So, this crazy king is your old friend Bumi?"

Offended the king protested, "Who are you calling old?" before sighing in defeat as he agreed to Katara's statement. Kiara chuckled, despite being angry at the crazy old man for capturing her. Sokka walked up to the small group, and stared at Bumi curiously.

"Why did you do all this?" Sokka questioned confusedly, "Instead of just telling Aang who you were?"

"First of all, it's pretty fun messing with people," Bumi replied with a snorted laugh, "But, I do have a reason,"

Bumi turned to Aang with a serious expression now of his wrinkled face, "Aang, you have a difficult task ahead. The world has changed in the hundred years you have been gone. It's the duty of the Avatar to restore balance to the world by defeating Fire Lord Ozai. You have much to learn, you must master the four elements and confront the Fire Lord and when you do, I hope you will think like a mad genius."

The smile on Bumi's face faded as he turned to Kiara seriously. Taken back at the sudden attention, Kiara awkwardly stared back at the old man, "Kiara, you must follow your destiny in order to help finish this war. It is the Apprentice's duty to be at the Avatar's side as he defeats the Fire Lord. You must overcome your conflicted feelings of being the Apprentice and accept your destiny. The path ahead of you may be difficult, however, I believe you can do it,"

Kiara stared wide eyed at Aang's aged friend in shock, as she sat in her spot on the ground. It was odd being the center of attention for her, and she realized she will often have more attention in the future. This crazy king read her feeling easily, and believed in her abilities of being the Apprentice. Kiara bit down on her bottom lip as she thought about Aang's question of wanting her to join them to the North Pole. She would finally be accepted of who she was, and not be judged over it. She felt her newly acquainted friends stared at her as she thought about her destiny. Smiling up to Bumi, Kiara replied to his reassurance, "Thank you"

The dark haired girl stood to her feet, and dusted herself off of any dust. Running her fingers through her dark locks, she smirked at her friends, "You guys should be glad,"

"Why?" Sokka asked, confused at her statement and wondered why they should be glad.

Kiara flipped her hair over her shoulder arrogantly, and winked at her newly acquainted friends, "-Because you have the most amazing person ever joining you in your travels,"

"Really?" Aang asked as a wide grin appeared on his face as he looked his Apprentice hopefully.

"Yup! Travelling with you guys seem a lot better than travelling on my own," She replied smoothly. Kiara yelped in surprise as Katara suddenly wrapped her arms around her happily.

"Oh, thank the spirits that you're coming with us! I'll loose my sanity being around these boy without another girl around!" Katara breathed out, relieved of not being the only girl in their group now. Kiara laugh out loud as she returned the embrace. Aang stepped up to his old friend with a smirk on his face, "Before we leave, I have a challenge for you,"

Kiara groaned loudly with an accusing look on her face as she turned to Aang with her hands sassily placed on her hip, "You're not going down the delivery system again, are you?"

* * *

**_Like it? Hate it? Heh, lemme know in a review!_**


	5. Imprisoned

A gentle stream cascaded off a boulder in a gentle waterfall, giving off a relaxing sound as it trickled down the rock. The water was clear and the warm golden light bounced off the water, giving it a glowing look. Dawn had just approached, giving the land it's warm golden rays of light. The normally dim forest glowed brightly, giving the forest a warm and gentle appearance. The air nomad whistled lightly, lifting the atmosphere as he lounged on a fallen tree trunk. His head rested on his folded arms that was underneath his head and his stormy grey eyes lazily glanced over to Katara and Kiara. The two girls kneeled on the forest floor as they folded sleeping bags neatly. When they finished folding the last sleeping bag, Kiara flopped on the ground with a frown.

"I have never wanted a warm bed in my life! How could you guys live like this?" Kiara complained, still getting used to her new camping lifestyle. Her arms begun to ache from folding the sleeping bags and blankets all morning. Kiara crawled her way to the gentle stream on her hands and knees, and sat beside the water. Her turquoise eyes stared through the clear water as she ran her hand in the cool water. Feeling refreshed from the cool water, Kiara continued to play with the water. Kiara felt determined as she held both hands over the stream in preparation. If the waterbenders learned how to bend from the moon continuously pushing and pulling the water, perhaps Kiara could learn from that! Exhaling deeply, Kiara concentrated on the water in front of her. She slowly pushed her hands forward after she slightly felt energy in her hands. Frowning at the sight of the water twitching under her command, Kiara focused on lifting the water. Her brows furrowed together in concentration as she imagined a sphere of water in her hands. Slowly, the water twitched out from the stream. It moved upwards slowly as Kiara lifted her hands, then curving her hands as if she was holding a ball. She was amazed at the energy she felt underneath her palms that continuously flowed.

"Woah," Kiara murmured as she stared at the watery sphere that was controlled by her. It leaned slightly to the left, making Kiara turned her torso left to keep controlled the water. "Katara! Look at th-"

Momo swooped down from the air and landed on Kiara's face, making her lose her concentration. The water flopped down to the stream ungracefully, and had gotten Kiara splashed. Irritated at the lemur bat, Kiara swatted Momo away angrily before looking over her shoulder towards Katara glumly, "Nevermind,"

"Great! You're back!" Aang said happily to Sokka as he returned to camp with a bag in his hand, "What's for breakfast?"

Curious of what Sokka held in the bag, Kiara crawled back to where he was squatted down in front of the two benders. Her messy dark hair covered her vision and she simply flicked the hair back. Her stomach growled loudly, making heat rush to her face. Sokka opened his skin bag, "We got a few options. First, round nuts and some sort of oval shaped nuts, some some rock shaped nuts that might just be rocks. Dig in!"

Kiara stared horrified at the nuts and rocks that was placed in her hands. Her stomach protested loudly as Katara lifted an eyebrow at her brother, "Seriously, what else you got?"

Momo squawked loudly as he curiously picked up a rock that Sokka tossed over his shoulder. The flying lemur bat tilted his head curiously as he lifted the rock high in the air before slamming it against the ground. A loud book echoed through the forest and Momo looked at the rock curiously.

"What was that?" Kiara cried out as she worriedly starred in the direction of where it echoed from. Nearby birds instantly flew away, frightened from the noise. Kiara stood to her feet beside Sokka. Another loud boom rumbled the earth, and it seemed louder than the first.

"It's over there! Let's go!" Aang cried out as he and Katara ran towards the boom.

"Aren't we supposed to run away from loud booms? Not towards it!" Sokka scoffed in disbelief as he stared after the two benders. Kiara also scoffed as she crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly.

"Well, I don't want to _die_ today, thank you very much! I'll stay here, where I'm safe from loud booms," Stubbornly, Kiara turned away, clearly not wanting to follow the two benders that were headed straight for possible danger. Sokka rolled his sky blue eyes before grabbing Kiara's wrist, and dragged her towards the booms. Yelping from being dragged, Kiara protested loudly against following yet Sokka ignored her. "_Ow_! Sokka!"

"What?" Sokka asked, annoyed at her protesting. She attempted to wiggle out of his grasp with no avail.

"It feels like you're ripping my hand off!" Kiara complained, as she eyed his large tanned hand that was wrapped around her wrist. It irked her that his hand could wrap around her wrist easily, showing her how small her wrist was. Sokka's surprised eyes glanced down to his hand then back to her face.

Sokka released her wrist slowly, eyeing Kiara suspiciously, "You better not run off to Appa,"

Scoffing at his accusation, Kiara rolled her eyes as she rubbed her wrist. It still felt as if his hand was still clamped onto her wrist, "As if you'd let me run off,"

Sokka rolled his eyes before motioned her to follow him as he hurriedly ran after his sister and Aang. Mocking him from behind his back, Kiara grudgingly ran after e water tribe warrior. She found him squatting beside Aang and Katara from behind a fallen log. Confusion spread through her as she walked up to them from behind.

"What are you guys doing?" Kiara asked as she placed her hands on her hips. All three jumped at her voice before placing a finger on their lips and shushed her.

Offended by their shushing, "What in the world are you doi-" Her words were cut off by a hand covering her mouth. Kiara hummed angrily against the hand as she looked up to meet Sokka's irritated blue eyes. Glancing to the right, Kiara noticed Katara and Aang staring at her with warnings in their eyes. Rolling her eyes, Kiara licked Sokka's hand and smirked as he withdrew his hand with a disgusted yelp.

"We should meet him!" Aang told them optimistically as they stared at the rocky valley. Kiara gazed over at the rocky valley and her eyes landed on a person that wore Earth Kingdom clothing. His long hair was half pulled into a top knot, while the rest flowed down his back. He slid his foot forward and powerfully thrusted his fist outward, making a boulder fly into the side. Kiara's mouth opened slightly at the sight of the earthbender.

Sokka narrowed his eyes at the earthbender, "He looks dangerous, so we better approach him carefully,"

Hopping over the ledge, Katara slowly walked over to the young man, keeping a safe distance. Kiara snickered as she realized that Katara was doing the exact opposite of what her brother told her. With a friendly smile on her face, she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "Hello there! I'm Katara! What's your name?"

Startled, the young earthbender dropped the boulder he was currently bending. A guilty expression grew on his face before he turned on his heel and ran in the opposing direction. As he ran, he bent the rocks to block the path in case the group had decided to follow him. Wincing at the loud noise that the rocks had made when they had fallen, Kiara stood up from squatting down behind the fallen log.

Aang walked up beside Katara and cupped his hands around his mouth in the direction of where the earthbender had ran off to, "It was nice meeting you!"

"Well that was nicely handled," Kiara sarcastically commented as she sat on the fallen log, propping her legs on the wood. Sokka snickered from behind Katara, who looked rejected.

"I just wanted to say hi," The waterbender murmured dejectedly.

"Hey!" Aang said brightly, "That guys has to be running somewhere! Maybe there's a village nearby! I bet that village has a market!"

"That means no nuts for dinner!" Katara nodded reassuringly to the young air nomad as the duo walked in the direction of where the mysterious earthbender had ran off too. From behind them, Sokka scoffed offended by the young benders, "Hey! I worked hard to get those!"

Standing up, Kiara patted Sokka's shoulder sympathetically with a smirk before walking ahead of him, "Awe, you poor baby," Sarcastically cooing at the warrior as she began to climb the rocks that the earthbender had bent. As she pushed off the ground to climb higher, her newly bought shoes slipped off a smooth rock. Kiara yelped as she tumbled down the rocks and landed on her back with a pained groan. Her ebony hair was sprawled across her face as she slowly sat up with an irritated expression on her face.

"Awe, you poor baby," Sokka mocked her sarcastically as he passed the fallen girl and patted her head. Scowling at the warrior's back, Kiara scrambled to her feet and attempted once more to climb the rocks.

* * *

"It looks lovely on you, Aang," Kiara commented as she stared slightly downwards at the young boy, who had just traded his nuts for a straw hat. It hid his tattoos greatly, and matched his outfit nicely. She adjusted his hat so it rested properly on his head, and the young airbender grinned up at her. Somewhere deep inside of her, Kiara felt the need to be close to the air nomad. Whenever he wandered off to the market, Kiara always kept a close eye on him from afar. The feeling confused her, since she only knew the young boy for a mere few days. As she turned her head to look down the street with several people wandering around, Kiara ran her fingers through her messy hair.

Before they had left the great kingdom of Omashu, Kiara had convinced the group to stop at the market. The dark haired girl was in desperate need for new clothing. However, after she had gotten her new clothing and shoes, Kiara had forgotten to buy some sort of hair pin to pin back her fringe that was constantly in her vision. Now that she had given her hair a thought, she remember that Katara mentioned her needing a hairbrush for her untamed hair.

"Um, guys, could we pick up a hairbrush for me?" Kiara asked as she turned back around to face the two boys. Blinking, Kiara just witnessed the two boys running off into a nearby store. Frowning angrily that they left her alone out here, she hurried after them.

"Hey! That wasn't funny, guys! Don't just leave me all alone out the street!" Kiara fumed angrily as she stormed into the store. The two boys probably thought that leaving her defenceless and alone on the street was hilarious. As she stormed inside the store, she was met with five different sets of different coloured eyes that stared at her. Instantly, her anger shrivelled as she awkwardly stood at the doorway. Her turquoise eyes landed on a young man that stood near the back of the store beside an older woman. Kiara noticed that it was the earthbender from earlier that had ran away from them. Looking around the room more, Kiara realized that she had just interrupted some sort of serious conversation.

The older woman ran towards the windows at the front of the store and closed them off, then hurrying to close the door. Her aged skin was creased in worry and anger, which set Kiara on edge. She knew better than to anger an old woman. From her spot beside the closed window, the aged woman stared at the young man incredulously, "They saw you doing what?"

"They're crazy, mom! I mean, look at the way they are dressed!" The young man quickly replied, motioning to the group in his store. Kiara narrowed her eyes at the guilty man, from observing him, she realized that he was trying to put the fault on their group for some reason. His emerald green eyes frantically glanced between their group and his mother. Kiara glanced down to her outfit, offended from accusation. She was dressed like a regular Earth Kingdom citizen. Kiara wore a long sleeved light green shirt underneath a short brown leather vest that tied up in the front. Both the shirt of the vest hugged her torso nicely, which Kiara preferred. She didn't enjoy having her clothing caught because of the looseness. To match her top, Kiara wore deep brown capris that ended just below her knees. Her feet were covered in simple brown slippers. Looking over to her right, she noticed that the others were subconsciously tugging on their own clothes as well.

"You know how dangerous that is! You know what would happen if they caught you earthbending!" Just as the older woman warned, there were banging on the door the yelling following shortly after to open the door.

Sokka peered through the blinds of the window, and frantically turned around, "Fire Nation! Act casual!"

Kiara's breath caught in her throat as she ran towards a rack filled with different type of clothing. She relaxed her facial expression into a peaceful one as the door opened. Despite her calm facial expression, Kiara felt anxious and nervous. From behind her back, Kiara overheard the Fire Nation soldier stated that the tax had just been raised and demand more money from the older woman. Kiara bit down on her bottom lip as Aang fell into a barrel of water. Kiara winced as she suddenly felt warm from behind her, and turned her head to look at the soldier from the corner of her eye. He held fire in his hands, and smirked smugly at the woman, "Fire is sometimes so hard to control. We wouldn't want an accident, now would we?"

It took all of Kiara self control to not to lose her temper at the man. He was purposely scaring the woman for the money. Kiara's eyes snapped back to the dress she was gripping tightly in her hands as the Fire Nation soldier glanced her way. Looking down in defeat, the woman murmured an agreement before walking further into the store. Reaching into a drawer at the desk, the aged woman brought out a small wooden chest. The woman handed him the proper amount of coins, and the soldier eyed them smugly.

He dropped a couple of copper coins on the ground, "You can keep the copper ones,"

As he left the store, Kiara spun around on her heel quickly and glared at the now closed door. Her muscles were tense from her anger. Sokka stared glumly at the door as well, "Nice guy. How long has the Fire Nation been here?"

After picking up the fallen coins, the aged woman stood up. Kiara noticed how older the woman looked when she was saddened, "Five long years. Fire Lord Ozai uses this town's coal mines to fuel his ships,"

"They're thugs, they steal from us. Everyone here is too much of a coward to do anything," The earthbender commented angrily as he crossed his arms. He seemed to be around fifteen, around Kiara's and Sokka's age. Kiara distractedly noted that she would be turning fifteen in the upcoming spring.

The aged woman, his father, gasped and scolded the young man, "Quiet, Haru! Don't talk like that!"

"But, Haru's an earthbender, he could help," Katara noted as stared at the angry teenager. Haru glanced up to her in surprise that she would say that.

His mother snapped her eyes to the waterbender in warning, "Earthbending is forbidden! It has brought nothing but misery to this village! He must never use his abilities,"

"How could you say that? Haru has a gift! Asking him not to earthbend is just like asking me not to waterbend! It's part of who we are!" Katara exclaimed with her hand over her heart as she walked towards the aged woman. Kiara couldn't help but roll her eyes at the waterbender being dramatic. She understood how important bending is, however, she could barely move water. Being the Apprentice, Kiara should have been more understanding which the concept of bending. However, at the moment, Kiara could care less.

Haru's mother shook her head grimly at the tanned girl, "You don't understand,"

"I understand that Haru could help you fight back! What can the Fire Nation do to you that they haven't already done?" Katara asked with outstretched arms to prove her point even more.

Haru's mother glanced over to Haru sadly, then back to the waterbender, "They could take Haru away. Just like they took his father away,"

"Katara, just drop it already," Kiara murmured as she put a hand on the waterbender's shoulder. Katara didn't protest against the dark haired girl pulling her back, since she was taken back at the information she had just received. Kiara glanced over to Haru, and couldn't help but sympathize the poor boy. Yet, she never vocalized her sympathy.

* * *

The sky was now painted in several different shades of yellows and oranges as the sun had begun to set. The air was calm with a slightly chill from the beginning of autumn. Mountains stood on the far right and the foot hills stretched far beyond on the left. When the group left the great kingdom of Omashu had headed north, they had barely left the beautiful mountainous terrain.

After Haru and his mother offered the group dinner, which they eagerly agreed to, Haru's mother kindly offered the group of four a place to sleep. Despite having to sleep in the barn, the group accepted her offer. Sleeping in a barn was better than having to sleep in the forest. Since the barn was filled its hay, Appa begun eating the wheat, and Aang desperately tried to have his companion not eat all the hay.

Restlessly, Kiara glanced over to her companions boredly. The air nomad was brushing the flying bison's white fur with a large brush in his hand. The water tribe warrior was leaning against a bundle of hay and lazily threw his boomerang in his carrhand. Blowing the hair out of her eyes, Kiara poked Sokka on his side and laid on her stomach. Her arms were propped up, and her head rested on her fists, "Hey, Sokka?"

"Yeah?" He replied lazily as he caught his boomerang.

"I need to buy something at the market tomorrow," Kiara stated as she kicked her legs in the air. She hoped that having a conversation would take her out of her boredom.

"Okay," Sokka answered simply, throwing his boomerang in the air with a flick of his wrist. It was silent after his reply, despite Appa's occasional groan of pleasure from his pampering.

The small talk with Sokka didn't satisfy her boredom, so Kiara sighed and stood to her feet. She dusted her capris off from stray hay that attached itself not her. Walking towards the door of the barn, Kiara called over her shoulder that she was going out for a walk. Instinctively, Kiara took in a deep breath of the fresh crisp air. She walked around Haru's farm, observing the plants they grew. There were several different plants Haru and his mother grew, such as potatoes, tomatoes, peas, onions and carrots. Kiara noticed that the soil around the plants seemed dry and crumbly. Looking around, the dark haired girl noticed a metal bucket beside a well on e other side of the farm. Deciding to do a good deed, Kiara grabbed the bucket and filled it with the well water. The well water was clear and fresh from glacier water in the mountains that flowed underneath the earth. Glancing over her shoulder to check if anyone was around, Kiara concentrated on the water with her hand hovering above the water. Slowly, she began to feel energy flowing from underneath her hand. Biting down on her bottom lip, Kiara slowly drew the water out of the bucket and slowly poured a balanced amount of each plant. In most cases of waterbending, it was graceful and elegant as you moved the water around and shifted your weight slowly. However, it irked Kiara that she was far from graceful and her bending was stiff and hard.

"What are you doing?" Startled, Kiara yelped and the water that was suspended in the air splashed down on top of her. Her hair that was tucked behind her ears fallen in front of her eyes once more. Letting out an annoyed groan, Kiara pushed her hair back so she could see. She turned around, and looked up to find Haru standing in front of her with an amused expression on his face. Her face flushed from not only bei caught, but having him see her looking as if she was a wet elephant rat.

"I-uh.. You see, I was just watered your plants! Since they needed watering.." Kiara stammered, silently scolding herself for sounding dumb. Her face heated even more as she felt him gazing down at her, so she averted her turquoise eyes to the ground. She noticed that her slippers were caked with mud, thanks to the water mixing with the dirt. A loud chuckle brought her eyes back to the earthbender. Haru had an amused twinkle in his eyes as he chuckled at her,

"I was just coming out here to water them myself! Now I don't have to do them, thanks to you," Haru replied with a kind smile on his face. Kiara noted how his mood was considerably brighter than earlier in the store. His slightly tanned face seemed to brighten as he smile, with the corners of his eyes crinkling as he did.

Kiara returned the smile, and commented, "Well, you seem happier,"

Haru rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he grinned, "You think so? I spoke with Katara, and we saved an old man from an avalanche,"

"Good for you guys, I hope that old man is safe," Kiara replied, suddenly aware that she was soaked to the bone with her hair plastered to her face. She felt foolish to be seen by Haru, who wasn't by any means ugly. "I'm Kiara, by the way,"

"I'm Haru, but I'm sure you already knew that," The tall teenager told her with an easy smile on his face. Kiara laughed and nodded with a slight hum. The two teenagers began walking out of the field of crops and conversed aimlessly. The wet leather vest that clung tightly to Kiara begun to feel uncomfortable, so she tied the string that held the vest together. Taking off her dirty slippers, Kiara walked barefoot towards the barn. Not wanting to go back to the barn, Kiara sat down on the step hill that overlooked a large valley. The earthbender sat down beside the dark haired girl and leaned against his elbows as he stared down at the valley. Kiara absent mindedly ran her fingers through her damp hair, and rubbed her chilled damp arms.

Tilting her head slightly backwards, Kiara stared at the silent earthbender. Kiara bit her bottom lip as she flung her dark hair over her shoulder, exposing the side of her neck, "I know what it feels like to hide your bending,"

"Really?" Haru seemed genuinely surprised as his eyebrows shot up. His deep green eyes gazed over to the wet teenager who chuckled at his reaction.

"Well, when you do accidental bending between the air and water, you're kind of forced to hide it," Kiara replied simply as she turned her gaze to the mountains that stood tall and strong. It gave her a sense of protection that calmed her. Silence overcame the two, and Kiara guessed that Haru was taking in this information.

"What do you mean 'accidental bending between the air and water'?" Haru asked confusedly, with his eyebrows furrowed together in deep thought.

Kiara nearly snorted at the boy, "As you should know, benders tend to do accidental bending when they are emotional,"

"No, no, no. After that," Haru explained, still trying to comprehend the information. However, people expect the Apprentice to be brave and noble as the Avatar is. That thought made her smirk turned into a frown him as she averted her eyes. Does Haru think that of her now? "I never wanted to be the Apprentice though," Kiara told him quietly, afraid of what he would think. Despite her thoughts, she could help but feel the calm and understanding aura that Haru held that made her want to vent her thoughts to him.

"Why?" He asked incredulously, then back tracked with his hand up, "I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. It's none of my business,"

Kiara chuckled lightly at the earthbender, reassuring him, "No, it's fine. It's just that.. Being the Apprentice isn't as dandy as it seems. I mean, it's cool that could bend two elements and all, but the responsibilities that come with it,"

"Isn't the Apprentice supposed to not only protect the Avatar, but be his or her advisor?" Haru asked thoughtfully in a light tone, not the judging tone that Kiara thought he would have. It lifted her heavy thoughts slightly, to know that Haru wasn't judging her.

Kiara nodded her head affirmatively, "Yeah, in order to do that, I could bend two elements,"

The earthbender was silent as he took in this information as his deep green eyes gazed across the darkened valley. The sun had disappeared from view, darkening this part of the earth, letting the bright stars shine brightly. "What's wrong with being the Apprentice?"

Kiara lifted the corners of her mouth grimly as she pulled grass from the earth, "Ever since I realized that I could bend two elements, hence being the Apprentice, I was lousy at bending. Since waterbending was my home element, you would think that it would be easy for me to learn. I completely suck at waterbending, and not to mention airbending. How could I possibly protect Aang? The Apprentice is supposed to be powerful and brave, not some lousy, useless, bend less little girl,"

"I don't think your lousy," Haru stated thoughtfully, "You have the potential to be brave and powerful, as you stated the Apprentice should be. You just have to grasp that potential,"

Despite her doubtful thoughts, Kiara found herself smiling up at the reassuring earthbender. Her turquoise eyes barely made out the outline of his figure in the dark sky. Kiara found herself drawn towards the boy who was a lot similar to her, and was unbelievably kind to her. Haru only gave her small advice, yet Kiara couldn't help but think greatly of it. Her lightly tanned skin placed itself on the earthbender's forearm as she looked up at him through her thick lashes.

"Thanks Haru, see you in the morning," With that, Kiara stood up and grabbed her vest and slippers before walking barefoot towards the barn. The grass tickled her feet and ankles as she walked. Opening the barn door slowly, Kiara stepped inside the warm building and notice that he newly acquainted friends were laying down in their respective beds. Katara held a small lantern in her hands that lit her tanned face in a warm glow. All three pairs of eyes flickered to her as she slipped inside the barn. A small smile grew on Kiara's face in greeting before sitting on her green sleeping bag that was placed beside Appa on the floor. She had bought the sleeping bag in Omashu instead of the pretty boots she had wanted as well. Eventually, Katara had convinced her that the sleeping bag was more of a necessity.

Sokka rose an eyebrow at the ebony haired girl who slipped inside of her sleeping bag, and asked her in a stern tone, "Where were you?"

"Who are you? My dad?" Kiara snorted sarcastically as she racked her finger through her knotted hair, "But, if you had to know, I was out with Haru,"

"Why?" Sokka asked suspiciously, yet was cut off by her laying down in her sleeping bag and purposely turned her back on him. Her ebony hair sprawled everywhere and she let out a sleepy yawn. The water tribe warrior stared at the sleeping bag with disdain at her blunt ignorance. Rolling his sky blue eyes, he turned to his sister and Aang, "Everyone should get some sleep. We're leaving at dawn,"

Kiara scoffed from inside her sleeping bag, "Yes, dad,"

"Dawn? Can't we sleep in for once?" Katara whined as she pouted up her brother.

Sokka scoffed as he laid down on his stack of hay, "Absolutely not! This village is crawling with Fire Nation troops! If they find out your here, Aang, we'll be eating fireballs for dinner! Good night,"

"I'd rather eat fireballs than nuts," Katara replied smoothly as she stared up at her brother teasingly. Kiara snickered from inside her bundle of blankets at the waterbender's retort, earning a glare from Sokka for encouraging his sister.

"_Good night_," Sokka repeated sternly as he turned his back towards the snickering group. Kiara sighed contently as she snuggled comfortably into her bundle of blankets. The blankets provided warmth and protection that Kiara adored. Her eyes fluttered closed as she relaxed her muscles for much needed sleep.

* * *

A large hand roughly shook Kiara's shook in a poor attempt to awaken the sleeping girl. Resulting in a sleepy groan and her snuggling into the blankets further. Kiara desperately wanted to go back to the lovely dream she was having. Her deep ebony hair knotted angrily into several nests at the back of her head. She buried her face into her pillow further as her shoulder was shook once more. Sleepily, Kiara cursed at whoever it was. However, the hand roughly shook her once more that shook her entire body,

"G'way.." Mumbling sleepily as she moved away from the rough hand.

"Kiara! Wake up!" Sokka's urgent voice reached her ears as he pressed on her shoulder to make her lay on her back. Her eyes squinted from the harsh light once more and turned her head away.

"No," She replied as she attempted to roll over for more wanted sleep. Sokka groaned in annoyance as he restricted her movement by pressing into her shoulder more.

After more attempts of waking the sleeping girl, Sokka gumbled in annoyance before scooped his arm underneath her legs and her back. He lifted the now asleep Kiara and held her to his chest as he walked towards the flying bison's tail. His eyes glanced over to Aang who was still trying to convince Katara to rethink her plan. However, the waterbender was determined to save Haru who was captured late last night. Katara planned to also get arrested for fake earthbending, then save Haru at the prison from there. It was ridiculously crazy in Sokka's eyes. He knew better than to convince his sister to change her determined mind.

"T'is too bright.." Sokka looked down to find Kiara grumbling angrily yet sleepily as she buried her face into his chest to avoid the harsh rays of sunlight. The warrior stared dumbly down at the sleeping girl that snuggled herself into his chest.

Standing outside, Sokka waited as Aang led his massive companion out of the barn. Appa groaned loudly as he shook his body, causing the fur to fly wildly. The air nomad used his airbending to lift the saddle onto the bison's back. After securing it, Sokka carried Kiara onto Appa's back.

"She's still asleep?" Aang asked incredulously as he stared at Kiara whom was being set down on the saddle by Sokka. The warrior draped a blanket over the dark haired girl. Sokka slumped against the side of the saddle with a sigh of annoyance as he stared at the messy haired girl.

"Yeah, I just hope that this won't be a daily routine for me to put her in the saddle," Sokka replied with an edge of irritation to his voice. He suddenly yelped in surprise and pain as Kiara's fist reached out of her nest of blankets to punch Sokka. He rubbed his aching side and glared at the girl.

Sitting up with a loud yawn, Kiara glared at Sokka as she rubbed her eyes from any traces of sleep. Her dark locks were springing out in various directions as her glare made her look more ridiculous than intimidating. Sokka suppressed a snicker at the sight of the disarranged girl as she stretched with a blessed sigh. Her turquoise eyes narrowed down of the slouched teenager, "I enjoy my sleep, thank you very much,"

"At least you're awake now," Aang replied slightly nervous of another argument in the early morning. Rolling her eyes at his poor attempt, Kiara stretched her arms once more before punching Sokka in the arm again. She snickered as he yelped loudly.

"What was that for? I'm going to bruise if you keep that up!" Sokka complained loudly as he glared at the messy haired girl.

"Mm, just because I can," Kiara replied simply as she turned to Katara who was determinedly staring down at the rocky terrain in deep thought. The darker haired girl carefully crawled up to the waterbender, still not completely used to the ordeal of flying. Despite the queasiness in her stomach, Kiara disregarded the fact because she was curious of why Katara had such a determined look on her face.

"Hey, Katara?" Kiara asked, slightly hesitant as she gazed at the younger girl who silently sat at the front of the saddle. Glancing over her shoulder, Katara snapped out of her determined stare to answer Kiara.

"Where are we going? I thought we were headed that way yesterday," Kiara asked as she pointed her finger in the direction that held less mountains. It confused her as of why they were headed back in the same direction as they came the previous day.

Katara frowned at her question, then a more determined expression overcame her frown, "Haru got arrested last night," Kiara gasped in horror as her eyes widened. Katara nodded her head sympathetically before continuing, "I'm going to rescue Haru by sneaking into the prison where they have the rest of the earthbender's,"

"Katara, no! That's too dangerous!" Kiara instantly replied, more awake than before from her friend's dangerous plan.

Sokka snorted from the back of the paddle, "That's what I said,"

Rolling her sky blue eyes, Katara stared at her brother sternly before returning her attention back to the ebony haired girl. "I have to do this."

Knowing she couldn't change Katara's decision, Kiara pursed her lips in thought as she stared at Katara worriedly with her turquoise eyes. How would Katara possibly rescue Haru? Where is the prison that's holding Haru? Kiara rose an eyebrow at Katara, "Ahem, uh, question then. How in the world are you going to that prison?"

"Simple. I'm going to get arrested for earthbending." Katara replied determinedly as she stared over at the messy haired girl in hopes of her understanding her plan. Gaping, Kiara stared over to the waterbender in shock. Kiara knew from nearly a week that whenever Katara sets her mind to something, she doesn't back down. However, this time, Kiara just hoped that her friend's ridiculous plan could work.

* * *

Grunting loudly, Kiara used all of her weight as her, Sokka and Katara heaved a boulder in a specific spot. Despite being the Apprentice, Kiara had absolutely no muscles as she would had hoped she'd have. After pushing the huge boulder in the designated spot, Kiara's legs gave up on her, resulting in her falling onto the hard ground. "That boulder is freaking heavy," Kiara moaned as she regained her breath. She gladly accepted Katara's hand as she lifted Kiara to her feet.

"I thought you were crazy at first, Katara," Sokka began as he glanced over to his sister, "-But this might work."

"There are ventilation shafts throughout these mines," The water tribe warrior explained, "All Aang has to do is send an air current through the air vent over there. The boulder levitates, and ta-da! Fake Earthbending!"

Kiara heaved a sigh as she dragged herself over to where Aang was playing with a brightly coloured butterfly using his airbending. She rolled her eyes as Katara and Sokka worried about Aang once more about his part in the plan. They had run over this plan for nearly twenty minutes now, and it had begun to get irritating now. Perhaps it simply annoying Kiara that she had no role in this plan, only to hide. She wasn't useless at all in this situation since she could airbend or be between the water tribe siblings' argument.

"Here they come! Get in your places!" Sokka called over as he rushed over to his place. Beside Kiara, Aang squatted down in a ready position. Kiara lazily lounged against the rock that perfectly hide both her and Aang. She couldn't see Katara or Sokka, yet she could hear them stomping over to each other.

"Get out of my way, pipsqueak!" Sokka's loud voice rang out in fake anger.

Kiara heard Katara scoff fakely and reply in the same fakely angered voice, "How dare you call me pipsqueak, you giant eared cretin!"

Despite their terrible acting, Kiara began to giggle at the insult, which caused Aang to quickly cover her mouth with his hand. She had quieted down after she heard Sokka reply even louder, "What did you call me?"

"A. Giant. Eared. Cretin! Look at those things! Do herds of animals use them for shade?!" Katara asked in a fake deep voice, which only caused Kiara to giggle harder. Aang put a finger to his lips to silently tell Kiara to quiet down.

"You better back off!" Sokka yelled loudly before whispering, "Seriously, back off."

"I will not back off!" Katara shouted against her brother. Kiara slightly wondered if they were even faking the argument anymore. "I bet elephants get together and make fun of how large your ears are!"

"That's it! You're going down!"

"I'll show you who's boss!" Katara cried out dramatically, "Earthbending style!"

An awkward silence overcame the entire group, as Kiara punched the distracted airbender. Katara cried out once more, just as Aang slammed his palms against the vent causing a gust of air through the vent. Deeper gasps were heard, which Kiara figured it was the Fire Nation soldiers.

"The lemur," One soldier trailed off in awe, "It's earthbending!"

Smacking her forehead from the Fire Nation soldier's stupidity, Kiara briefly wondered if all soldiers were this stupid. Sokka seemed to be wondered the same thoughts as he scoffed at them, "No, you idiot, it's the girl!"

"Oh," The soldier replied dumbly, "Of course."

After making sure that it was safe to come out of hiding when the soldiers dragged Katara away, Kiara smirked over to Sokka who pulled at his ears self consciously. He pointed to the lemur with a frown, "Momo, you have some big ears!"

Kiara yanked on his ear from his side, causing him to yelp loudly in pain. As Sokka glared down at Kiara, she smirked up back to him, "Leave Momo alone, you giant eared cretin!"

* * *

Kiara glanced between both boys beside her that stood in silence and frowned boredly. The trio had simply been walking around the streets aimlessly for half the day as they waited until they pick Katara up at midnight. The trio were anxious and worried for the waterbender's safety, and have been doing nothing but worry since dawn. Safe to say, Kiara was bored. Using each hand, Kiara pulled on both boys' sleeves and whined, "Guys, I'm bored!"

"What do you want me to do about it?" Sokka asked as he rose an eyebrow at Kiara.

"Let's do something that doesn't involve walking around aimlessly!" Kiara suggest slightly bitter from her boredom. She glanced between both Aang and Sokka to have them say nothing. "Okay, I need a hairbrush. Let's go to the market so I could buy one!"

"Okay." Aang shrugged as they begun their way back to the market once more. Kiara happily took the lead, relieved that they had something to do. Her fingers absentmindedly played with the dangling string in front of her leather vest. Her eyes gazed across each of the vendor's merchandise in search of a hairbrush. Aang had walked by her side the entire time, observing each little merchandise as well. The water tribe warrior followed behind the pair, not interested in shopping, which amused Kiara. The said girl's eyes caught onto several colours that was placed upon a table. Stopping, Kiara glanced at the colourful accessories.

"Oh, this one is pretty," Kiara murmured as she observed a shiny green hair clip. Finding a blue hair brush that fit her tastes, Kiara called the watchful vendor over with a wave of her hand. Handing the correct coins for the brush, Kiara walked away feeling accomplished. "There, I got my brush!"

"Now your hair won't look like a mane!" Sokka snorted as he snickered at his joke, making Kiara laugh sarcastically before punching him in the arm.

"So, now what?" Aang asked as the three of them stood dumbly in the middle of the market. Sokka shrugged helplessly as he glanced over to the dock, where they had recently came back from checking on Katara.

Kiara gazed over to Aang, who looked over at her with his large grey eyes. Noticing his brightly coloured air nomad clothing, Kiara couldn't help but note that he was the image of an airbender. "Um, Aang, do you think you could begin teaching me airbending?" Kiara asked as she bit her lip and fiddled with her newly bought hairbrush. Aang's stormy eyes brightened considerably at her question.

"Sure!"

* * *

Aang stood firmly in front of Kiara with a smile on his face. The trio had moved into the forest where Appa hid to avoid any prying eyes. "Meditating is the key to airbending, as you need a calm mind to airbend. As you may or may not know, the airbenders learned airbending from the-"

"-Flying bisons!" Kiara supplied with an excited smile on her face. Ever since she was a little girl, all she could do was dream about the air nomads and their culture, specifically the art of airbending. As everyone else in the world since the massive massacre of the air nomads, they had all been curious about the exist population. All Kiara could dream of what people flying around the air on gliders or bison, and creating tornados! Now, she could live up her dream of learning the beautiful art. Not only that, but to actually be useful to the group. Not being able to fight using bending or weapons really bothered her.

Kiara's lips pulled into a sheepish grin as Aang gave her a playfully stern look, "As I was saying, um, airbending isn't like earthbending at all, more like the opposite. I, um, next- sorry Kiara, I'm not very good at this! I haven't taught anyone before." Aang replied apologetically as he rubbed the back of his bald head.

Waving her hand dismissively, Kiara grinned over to the monk, "No worries, isn't it like re-learning it for me? Since in, um, my past life, I guess, I learnt it before?"

"Yup! Exactly!" Aang answered brightly, not so glum anymore. "Anyways, unlike earthbending, you must always be light on your feet at all times. Instead of facing the problem head on, you should look at the problem in every way possible. You get it?"

"Okay, that's a bit different, but I think I understand." Kiara nodded her head slowly as she processed this information.

"The monks taught me that every life is precious and valuable, even when it comes to your enemies. You must never use violence unless you absolutely have to, so airbenders lean more towards defensive than offensive. We try to dodge more than attacking."

Biting her bottom lip, Kiara nodded her head once more, "Alright, so what you're basically saying, is that you never attack?"

"Not exactly, you should attack when you feel as if you need to." Aang explained to the dark haired girl.

"I think I got this, so now could you show me how to move the air?" Kiara asked excitedly, nearly bouncing in her spot from excitement. Aang laughed at the anxious girl before nodding and moving to stand beside her.

"Alright, this is the basic stance for airbending," Aang explained as he squatted down defensively, and motioned Kiara to copy his movements, "Now, take a deep breath and feel the air around you."

Doing as what she was instructed to do so, Kiara closed her eyes to concentrate on the fresh air around her. Nodding her head once she felt the air that always surrounded her, she heard Aang continue, "Now, cradle your hands as if you were holding a ball of nothing. Move your hands into a half circle, and keep doing that until you feel coolness in your hands."

Slightly confused at the air nomad's teachings, Kiara obeyed his instructed nevertheless. Kiara continued taking deep breathes and concentrated the air around her along with her wrist movements. Slowly, Kiara barely felt coolness in her hands, and concentrated on the coolness more than anything. Eventually the coolness increased, and her curiosity took over. Opening her turquoise eyes to find air wisps circling in her open hands. Gasping loudly at the feeling of the air moving in her palms, Kiara glanced over to Aang excitedly, "Spirits! I'm doing it! Lookit! Aang! Oh Spirits, it's disappearing! Oh, I got it! No worries!"

Aang loudly laughed as he watched as she excitedly watched the swirling air in her hands. The air nomad knew that the air ball she had created was weak and small, yet she looked so proud of herself. So, Aang never mentioned anything.

* * *

"Guess what, Sokka?" Kiara asked quietly as she leant against Appa's saddle with her legs crossed in a relaxed position. After several more attempts of failed airbending, it was now midnight and the trio had went to rescue Katara from prison. In resulting of Kiara knowing a handful of weak airbending moves that made her proud than ever.

It has been a couple of minutes since Aang left to find Katara while trying not to get caught. Sokka, who has been alert and tense the entire time incase something bad will happen, glanced over to the smug dark haired girl, "What?"

"I'm a _ninja_, you know that?" Kiara smirked over at the dumbfounded warrior as she pointed her nose in the air haughtily.

Sokka snorted sarcastically as he drawled out, "Oh _really_? And why is that?"

"-Because I now can airbend." Kiara replied with her smirk still on her face as she exhaled.

Sokka rose an eyebrow at the smug teen before sarcastically drawling out, "Right, and I now can earthbend."

"Pfft, if only you had watched me practice with Aang, then you would know I can airbend!" Kiara scoffed as she glanced across the ocean lazily. The ocean air was still completely foreign to Kiara, since she was used to regular inland air from the farms and mountains. Despite the difference in the air, Kiara couldn't help but enjoy the salty air.

"Oh yeah? Then prove it!" Sokka challenged quietly, still alert for any potential guards that may appear. Pursing her lips as she rose an eyebrow at the challenging boy, "Fine, I will!"

As Kiara sat upright and exhaled deeply, two sets of footsteps broke her concentration. Looking up at the prison, Kiara found Aang and Katara standing there quietly. Sokka glanced around the four of them alertly, "Your twelve hours are up. Where's Haru? We've got to get out of here!"

Aang jumped down to the reins, cushioning his descent with a gust of air just as Sokka stood up on the saddle. Kiara's attention soon went to a hesitant Katara, who glanced back towards the prison. Her brother outstretched his hand for her to grasp onto, "We don't have much time. There are guards everywhere, come on!"

Kiara exchanged a worried glance with Aang, "Uh, what's the matter?"

"Katara, what's wrong?" Aang asked at the same time as Kiara, and again exchanged a glance.

Dropping her hand from the bar that she was holding onto, Katara stood firmly in place as she closed her eyes. Sighing quietly, Katara protested, "I'm not leaving."

Kiara's mouth dropped at the protesting girl in shock, along with the two boys. Hurriedly, she glanced over the prison ledge guardedly. Sokka's outstretched hand dropped slightly in shock as he and Kiara exchanged a bewildered glance. Opening her sky blue eyes, Katara stared down at the trio determinedly, "I'm not giving up on these people."

Groaning quietly at the younger girl's determination, Kiara motioned for the boys to get on top of the prison ledge in order to discuss Katara's reason further. Realizing the ledge was too high, Kiara told Sokka to help her. Holding out both of his hands together, Kiara placed a foot on his hands before he lifted her onto the ledge. Returning the favour, Kiara leant down to help the warrior upon the ledge. Aang simply airbent his way next to Katara.

"What do you mean, we're not leaving?" Sokka questioned his sister in disbelief. Katara glared at her brother.

"I can't abandon these people!" Katara snapped determinedly and angrily because he didn't agree to her statement. "There has to be a way to help them."

"Maybe she's right," Aang replied, giving the idea more thought. "What do you say, Kiara, Sokka?"

Biting down on her lip, Kiara sighed as she glanced between all three of her friends. Anxiety was slowly building in the pit of her stomach that made her feel uneasy. "As much as I wanna leave this dreaded place, I don't think ditching these people will do anyone any good."

"I think you're all _crazy_!" Sokka hissed, still against the idea of staying on the prison. As the guard light tower flashed by all four of them, they all ducked to avoid being seen. "Last chance, we need to leave. Now!"

Glaring at her brother, Katara protested yet again with her voice unwavering, "No."

Shaking his head, knowing that there was no way of stopping her, Sokka groaned, "I hate when you get like this."

When the guard tower light flashed over them once more, Kiara knew if they stayed where they were any longer, they would be caught, "C'mon then! Let's go hide!"

* * *

Glancing over her shoulder wearily, Kiara turned back to the small hundle the four of them had made. The moonlight shined down brightly, making everything on deck visible and gave off an eerily blue light. Shivering slightly from the cold, ocean air, Kiara glanced over to Sokka. "We don't have much time. What are we gonna do?"

"I wish I knew how to make a hurricane." Aang muttered in dismay as he slumped down on his spot behind the wooden crates. Kiara snorted at his statement, making them all glance at her.

"I don't think that would be very helpful, right now." Katara and Sokka nodded their heads in unison at Kiara's statement.

Pointing a finger to state his idea better, Aang replied, "But the Warden would run away and take his keys!"

Kiara rose an unamused eyebrow at the young boy, and remembered how young he really was. Despite being two years older than him, Kiara noted how dumb that statement was. Dumber than his hurricane statement. Sokka seemed to be thinking along side her and stared at the monk with a deadpanned expression on his face, "Wouldn't he just take the keys with him?"

Pouting at his idea being put down, Aang mumbled, "I'm just tossing ideas around."

"It's okay, kid." Kiara said in a slight mocking way as she patted his shoulder.

"I tried talking the Earthbenders into fighting back, but it didn't work. If there was just a way to help them help themselves." Katara told them glumly as she gazed down to the metal floor of the prison rig.

"For that they'd need some kind of earth or some rock,," Sokka stated helplessly, looking up at his sister, "Something they can bend."

"-But this entire place it made out of metal." Katara stated as she touched the floor. Glancing over her shoulder once more, Kiara gazed across the area in case of a guard was nearby. Her eyes drifted to the massive chimney that dark smoke was drifting out of. Furrowing her eyebrows together, Kiara tilted her head to the side.

"Uh, no. Look at the smoke from that chimney thing over there. They gotta be burning coal in there!" Kiara replied as she pointed her index finger towards the dark smoke rising into the air.

Aang snapped his fingers, "-And coal is a type of earth!"

Grinning evilly at the thought, Kiara glanced back over to the three others to find them having the same expressions on their faces. From that moment, Kiara knew that they were all thinking of the same idea.

* * *

Squinting at the brightening sky that was painted in several different colours of red and oranges, Kiara yawned from lack of sleep. She was definitely be needing to take a nap later on that day, whenever she gets the chance. Rubbing her drooping eyes, Kiara turned her attention back towards the two water tribe siblings. The three of them were squatting beside an air vent that Kiara couldn't help but smirk at. Katara, glancing up at her brother, whispered to him, "It's almost dawn. We're running out of time. You sure it's gonna work?"

Nodding in confirmation, Sokka glanced down at the air vent beside them, "It should. These vents reminded me of our little trick back at the village. We're gonna do the same thing but on a much bigger scale."

Kiara's eyes drifted toward where Aang was located, near one of the smokestacks of the prison rig. He was supposedly giving them the signal. Sokka looked over to Kiara, who quietly looked back up at him, "There's a huge deposit of coal at the base of the silo and the whole system is ventilated. Aang closed off all the vents except one. When he does his airbending, the coal only has one place to go. Right back here."

"There's the intruder!" The trio jumped at the loud call of a guard, all knowing that the plan will be placed into action at that moment. Similarity jumping to their feet, Kiara snatched Sokka's club for her protection. Since she could barely bend her two elements, Kiara would rather rely on the weapon than bending at the moment.

"Stay back!" Sokka demanded in a loud voice as he took out his boomerang, "I'm warning you!"

"Katara, stop!" Kiara glanced over her shoulder to find an older and scruffy man calling out to Katara firmly. It was clear that he has been in this prison for quite awhile now by his appearance. He looked unhealthily skinny, and looked very worn, "You can't win this fight!"

The dark haired girl began to have doubt in their plan that they had been working on all night. Her eyes widened as she glanced around worriedly. All of the other prisoners looked the same as the elderly man, worn and tired. As the guards pointed their spears at the three of them, Kiara bit her lip worriedly. Her widened eyes met Haru's saddened eyes, and felt herself losing all hope.

"Listen to him well, child." The Warden's cold voice drawled out, grabbing every person's attention. Kiara's eye ripped from Haru to glare to the aged Fire Nation man. "You're one mistake away from dying where you stand."

Closing in on the trio, the guard's spears had gotten too close for Kiara's liking. Her body tensed as she held out Sokka's club out for protection. A sudden rumbling began to come from the vent they were tensely standing next to, causing them to jump and look over their shoulders to find a geyser of coal came shooting from the vent. Kiara and several others gasps at the black coal shooting out high in the sky. Aang and Momo followed shortly after the coal, and came flying out of the vent being covered in coal. As soon as he landed, Aang began coughing the soot he had accidentally inhaled.

Taking the silence to her advantage, Katara climbed to the top of the pile of coal and cried out while holding up a lump of dark coal in her hand, "Here's your chance, Earthbenders! Take it! Your fate is in your own hands."

From the corner of her eye, Kiara saw Haru made to step forward to join them, but his elderly man from earlier blocked his way by raising his a firm arm. Her heart dropped in despair as the rest of the Earthbenders began to back away from them. Loud, cold laughter erupted out of the Warden, causing Kiara's attention to be drawn back to the cruel man. He looked slightly intimidating by his overconfidence and the six guards that stood tall behind him.

"Foolish girl," The man drawled mockingly as he turned his cold eyes onto Katara, "You thought a few inspirational words and some coal would change these people? Look at these blank, hopeless faces."

Glancing up to Katara's crestfallen expression, Kiara couldn't help the feeling of defeat fill through her. All of the prisoners avoided their gazes, by looking aside or downwards.

"Their spirits were broken a long time ago." The Warden continued to taunt as he crossed his arms over his armoured chest, "Oh, but you still believe in them, how sweet. They're a waste of your energy, little girl. You failed."

Rage filled her despair as Kiara's fist clenched together as she whipped her glare towards the taunting man. He held the air of arrogance around him that disgusted Kiara. Bending down, Kiara grabbed a handful of the dark coal in her hand. Standing to her feet, Kiara's arm swung back to throw the lump of earth at the Warden's face, and stopped when someone beat her too it as the Warden was hit by a different lump of coal.

Stunned at the action, Kiara turned around to find Haru had stepped forward with a cold glare placed upon his face. A wide grin split across her face as she noticed a lump of coal was dancing above his palm. Apparently, the Warden thought differently and snarled at the young earthbender. Punched clenched fists towards the young earthbender, the Warden sent a strong fire blast at him. Kiara's heart clench at the sight of Haru getting burnt to a crisp by the cruel man. The young earthbender jerked backwards to avoid the flames, instead of feeling the searing blistering heat of the flames, Haru looked up to find a wall of coal stood before him and the young man turned to see the elderly man from earlier had stepped up with his hands raised. A sense of pride overflowed Kiara as she smugly glared at the Warden.

"Show no mercy!" The Warden commanded heartlessly as his Firebenders soldiers had formed a line on either side of the man, making a Firebending stances. In unison, the soldiers sent streams of fire at the two Earthbenders.

Kiara's outstretched arms lowers as she watched in amazement as the other Earthbenders joined Haru and the older man in bending a large wall of coal up to block the flames. Never in her life had she seen such a dramatic battle between fire and earth. She had never seen such determination from the Earth Kingdom. Ever since she was small, Kiara had known the earthbenders were strong and never truly realized it until now.

"For the Earth Kingdom!" The older man yelled in a booming voice towards the other earthbenders, as he and the other Earthbenders slammed their hands on the ground and sent the coal flying at the Firebenders, "Attack!"

Quickly moving out of the benders' way, Kiara decided that she would make herself useful in this battle. Running up to one of the non-bending soldiers, Kiara slashed his spear in half with Sokka's club and watched his stunned expression in amusement. She smashed the dull side of the club against his helmet, and watched as the soldier tumble down to the ground unconsciously. Smirking, Kiara wiped off invisible dirt from the club, "Heh, Kiara: 1 Fire Nation: 0."

Dancing a small victory dance, Kiara grinned widely above the fallen soldier. Finally, she was useful for one time in her entire life. A spear was jabbed by Kiara's side where she had been previously dancing on, making her yelp in surprise and cut her victory dance short. Spinning around in her spot ungracefully, Kiara held up Sokka's club in her right hand in front of her. The man wasn't nearly as tall as the unconscious man on the metal floor, yet still slightly taller than her. Immediately, Kiara aimed the club towards the stick of the spear that would leave him weaponless. After a few moments of dodging the sharp spear, Kiara frantically slashed at the spear in hopes of breaking the stick. A loud grunt from the man made Kiara smirk as she realized she broke his spear. The solder brought up his fists to fight instead of his broken weapon. Despite having the upper hand with the club, Kiara knew she was shite with a weapon. Not wanting to hurt the man severely, Kiara flipped the club so the dull side was up.

The man seemed to be avoiding being hit by her heavy club. Sweat beaded her forehead as she continued to attempt to dodge and attack the man. Kiara yelped in pain as his fist came in contact with her side, then quickly slashing the club on his wrist, making his cry out. Lumps of coal smashed onto the soldier's head, effectively making him unconscious. Turning to her saviour, Kiara spun around to find Aang grinning up at her from halfway across the prison rig. Kiara mockingly saluted to the young airbender before running over to distracted soldiers.

"No!" Kiara turned to the plea to find the The Warden and several soldiers suspended on a platform of coal pleading. Kiara found the man that had saved Haru earlier earthbending them above the ocean without caring about their safety. "Please, I can't swim!"

"Don't worry. I hear cowards float." Kiara smirked as she heard the older man growl cruelly before dropping the Firebenders into the salty waters below. Picking up a handful of coals, Kiara threw the dark form of earth over the edge with the weakest of gust of air with a whoop of victory.

* * *

Grinning widely as the earthbenders on the stolen ships cheered loudly, Kiara feel a sense of accomplishment flow through her. The ocean breeze ruffled her messy hair further, making her inhale the salty air with a relaxed expression on her face. Kiara relaxed in Appa's saddle with Sokka as they swam back to the mainland. Biting her lip in concentration, Kiara inhaled deeply before thrusting her fist out in Sokka's direction. She laughed loudly as Sokka sputtered in shock from the gust of wind that was suddenly thrusted in his face. Hearing Aang laugh behind her, Kiara turned around from her spot on the saddle and gave him a cheerful high five.

"See, Sokka? I am a ninja because I can airbend!" Kiara cried out proudly as she grinned at the glaring warrior. Her laughter died down after a few minutes of continuously laughing, and her turquoise eyes gazed across the vast ocean around them. A cold shiver racked her body as she suddenly felt as if someone was staring at her. Tensing her body, Kiara glance around the saddle to see if either of the two boys was staring at her. Nope, both boys were distracted with their own things, which made Kiara slightly suspicious. Her eyes snapped over to each of the metal ships that surrounded Appa. Earthbenders alike were scattered on each of the ships in celebration. Then, Kiara's eyes met with a pair of familiar bright green eyes. Keeping the awkward eye contact with Haru, Kiara remembered the conversation they had the other night. About how she told him that she was the Apprentice, and because to think if it was the right choice. Haru seems like he wouldn't simply run around and yell to the world about her small secret. Her playfulness from earlier disappeared and was filled with awkwardness as she continued to feel Haru's stare. Fiddling with her fingers, Kiara watched the horizon as it slowly begun to increase in size.

* * *

**_Sorry for the wait guys! So, Kiara's bending process is slowly coming together. I really hope that her flaws are shown easily here, if not, please let me know in a review! _**

**_Like it? Hate it? Lemme know in a review!_**


	6. The Winter Solstice: Part 1

A soft cry of a hawk was heard after the massive flying bison flew overhead, surprising the brightly coloured bird. Watching as the bird flew away; Kiara leant over the saddle and watched the earth down below them. Her hair flew behind her as she looked down to observe the earth. She had given up on looking down below as large clouds drifted in and out of her vision. Kiara let out a long yawn from doing nothing that afternoon. Since their little quartet was on a journey north, every day was filled constant flying with occasional breaks for food and washroom breaks. The dark haired girl was relaxing against their sleeping bags with her legs propped up on Katara's back, since the water bender was lying down on her stomach. She was doing was Kiara had just been previously doing. Momo was lying on her folded legs and Kiara was lazily petting the relaxed lemur on his back.

"Those clouds look so soft, don't they?" Katara murmured dreamily as she rested her head against her propped up hand. "-Like you could just jump down and land in a big, soft, cottony heap."

Sokka smirked over to his sister, stopping his wood shaving for a moment, "Maybe you should give it a try."

Kiara nearly snorted out loud from laughter, yet stopped when she saw Katara throw a glare over her shoulder to her witty brother, "You're hilarious."

"I'll try it!" Aang answered suddenly as he jumped off Appa from the reins. Laughing brightly, Aang fell down towards the large fluffy clouds. Gazing off her shoulder, Kiara couldn't help but feel amazed at the air bender's carelessness. There would be no absolute way that Kiara could simply jump from hundreds of feet high and not have a care in the world. Katara and Sokka jumped towards the ledge to watch Aang fall down, making Kiara grunt from her foot rest being gone. As Aang glided back onto the saddle, it had made Kiara jump then back away slightly from his soaked form. Grinning, Aang glanced between his three friends, "Turns out, clouds are made out of water!"

Aang used his air bending to dry himself off, making Kiara cry out as she had gotten sprayed from the excess water that he had blown off. Uninterested, Katara gazed away towards the horizon. "Hey, what is that?"

Furrowing her eyebrows together, Kiara glanced towards the upcoming horizon that was filled with small mountains. It was mostly considered foothills in the recent knowledge that was in a book Kiara once read. In a large valley, the forest was covered in something darker than normal that caused the entire group to feel confused.

"It's like a scar." Sokka commented softly from behind Katara, unknowingly blocking Kiara's view

* * *

"Oh Spirits," Kiara gasped softly shortly after they descended, giving her a queasy feeling that she had ignored. Her turquoise eyes had widened at the terrifying scene that stretched for miles. The once luscious forest was burnt to the ground, leaving ash and dark logs that sprung up from the ground everywhere. The atmosphere was eerily quiet and had a sense of dread lingering in the air. Like Kiara, the others were speechless at the horrifying scene. To come across such a place was disastrous. Kiara shuffled her feet through the thick layer of ash in sadness. Why would anyone do this to an innocent forest? Her foot kicked an acorn that lay underneath the layer of ash. Frowning further, Kiara looked away from the ash in despair.

"It's so quiet," Sokka said softly, as if afraid to break the quiet atmosphere, "There's no life anywhere."

Kiara frowned deeper as she walked closer to Aang, inspecting the area further. Katara worriedly asked if Aang was okay, only to receive no reply. An overwhelming sense of concern and sadness filled Kiara as she fixed her attention on the young air bender. Aang's shoulders were hunched as he faced away from the group and onto the horrifying area. Instantly, Kiara made her way over to the saddened air nomad and wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders. She felt the tense muscles under his bright clothes, and noticed he was slightly shaking. She wrapped both arms around him in a side hug, in a silent reassurance that she was there. Aang's knees buckled from underneath him, and Kiara instinctively slowed down his fall with her arms.

"Why would anyone do this?" The air nomad asked softly in defeat as he stared down at the ashen ground, scooping up some of ash and letting it fall through his fingers, "How could I let this happen?"

Kiara's heart clenched at the defeated boy who was taking this environment to heart. His voice was small and vulnerable that made Kiara frown more. "Oh, Aang, don't think this is your fault whatsoever. You're completely innocent here." Kiara protested gently as she squeezed his arm slightly to show her comfort and support silently.

Aang shuffled in his fallen spot on the ground to cross his legs on the unnaturally dark ground. "Yes, it does" Aang protested as he glanced around with downcast eyes. "This is my fault. It's the Avatar's job to protect nature, but I don't know how to do my job."

Just as Kiara was about to answer the air bender, Katara beat her to him from her standing spot behind them, "That's why we're going to the North Pole; To find you a teacher."

Resisting the urge to scowl at the waterbender for taking her turn to speak, Kiara turned back to Aang with a sympathetic smile on her face. "Hey, don't worry about it. I'm in the same boat as you are. I have no idea of how to bend the elements I'm supposed to! Nor do I know how to protect you. See, I'm more useless at my job than you are." Kiara told him with a saddened smile on her face.

Kiara knew that what she stated was true. She knew she had to be the worse Apprentice in all of history. It did not help her that she was clueless at fighting since she didn't know how to use a weapon nor bend her two elements. Despite at the metal prison a couple days ago, Kiara knew that all she was doing was aimlessly swinging that club around her in hopes of defending herself. It was the others that had done the rest of the work for her. The earth benders took over majority while Aang, Sokka and Katara did the rest. Her frown deepened at the thought of her being completely useless.

"Yeah," Aang huffed slightly as he glanced over his shoulder to Katara, "A water bending teacher, but, there's no one to teach me how to be the Avatar. Monk Gyatso said that Avatar Roku would help me. Kiara, you aren't clueless at your job."

Kiara lifted the corners of her mouth up at the young boy, yet she knew the truth. There was no need for him to lie about it. "The Avatar before you?" Kiara heard Sokka question as he moved closer to where they slumped on the ground, "He died over a hundred years ago. How are you supposed to talk to him?"

A spark of irritation flowed through Kiara as she glared over Aang's shoulder at Sokka, who shrugged back at her. So much for cheering Aang up. Beside her, Aang heaved a sigh as he muttered, "I don't know."

For over twenty minutes, the group had taken to silence that given Kiara more time to sulk on the fact that she was utterly useless. She had taken refuge on dark ashen log that laid in front of Aang, who stayed in his sitting spot on the ground. Kiara had pulled her legs up to her chest as she stared glumly at the surrounding area that was burnt down for miles. When Katara suddenly called out to Aang in a loud bright voice, it had made Kiara jump from the suddenness. Unfortunately, Kiara's sudden jump made her lose her balance on the log and she fell backwards. Kiara groaned in pain as she laid on the other side of the log on her back with her legs still resting on the log. She heard Sokka bursting out in laughter from further away from her.

"-You ready to be cheered up?" Kiara heard Katara asked Aang brightly, grabbing Kiara's attention. Pushing off the ground with her arms, Kiara gazed over to the two benders in curiosity in an awkward position. Katara stood beside the airbender with a cheery smile on her face as she innocently had her hands clasped behind her back.

"No." Aang mumbled as he glanced back down towards the dark grey ash. Irritated, Katara whipped an acorn at the side of the nomad's bald head, making him yelp in pain. Kiara let out a small snicker at the sight. "Ow! Hey! how is that supposed to cheer me up?!"

Sokka let out another burst of laughter, "Cheered me up! More than Kiara's clumsiness cheered me up!"

"Hey! Are you trying to pick a fight? I'm gonna come over there and punch you!" Kiara shouted as she scrambled to get off the log with an irritated expression on her face. She was stopped short when an acorn bounced off her forehead. Kiara let out a loud groan of pain as she rubbed her pained forehead, "Spirits! Katara!"

"No fighting." Katara told her sternly as she bounced another acorn in her hand threateningly.

Sokka began snickering loudly at Kiara once more, only to have Katara whip an acorn at him, "Ow! Yeah, I probably deserved that."

"Pfft! Yeah! You think?" Kiara shouted back at him, now sitting on the dark log. Thanks to the waterbender, Kiara now had a small headache from the acorn. With a hand on her forehead, Kiara watched as Katara kneeled in front of Aang on one knee with her palm outstretched. On her palm rested another acorn, that made Kiara briefly wonder where Katara gotten all of these damned acorns.

"These acorns are everywhere, Aang. That means the forest will grow back! Every one of these will grow to be a tall oak tree some day, and all of the birds and animals will come back!"

Kiara couldn't help but envy as Katara cheered the airbender up more than she did. It was supposed to be her that cheered Aang up whenever he was saddened and angered; it was her job. It just proved it further how bad of an Apprentice she was.

"Hey, who are you?" Sokka demanded as he stood up when an elderly man approached them. A sense of wariness washed over Kiara that made her rush over to Katara and Aang who stood as well. It made her feel safer being closer to Aang for an unknown reason to Kiara. It surprised Kiara as she stood slightly in front of Aang from the man.

"When I saw the flying bison, I thought it was impossible." The elderly man stated, ignoring Sokka as he began walking towards Aang and Kiara, "But those markings…are you the Avatar, child?"

Aang glanced over towards Kiara who shrugged as she stared uncomfortably at the man who was now staring at her. Slowly, Aang nodded sheepishly at the man. "Could this be the Avatar's Apprentice?" The elderly man asked with an unsure voice.

Kiara's turquoise eyes widened at his observations. It surprised her that he guessed it so quickly, seeings how many people didn't realize who she actually was. Perhaps her protective stance in front of Aang gave her away? It made her feel stupid as she dumbly nodded her head to him, "-Oh! Uh, yeah."

Not paying much attention to Kiara anymore, the aged man gazed pleadingly down to the young airbender with his light hazel eyes. "My village desperately needs your help!"

* * *

It was uncomfortable for Kiara to blindly follow the aged man through the ashened forest then into the luscious forest a few miles away. The group didn't fly because of them unknowing where to go on Appa, so they settled with walking. Aang felt perfectly fine with walking close to the strange man with Katara, so Kiara walked behind them with Sokka. It was awkwardly silent as they followed the man towards his village. Kiara resisted the urge to complain loudly about her feet that begun to ache from the walking they did. Once she did complain quietly to Sokka, who sympathetically agreed with her. The sun was beginning to set as they reached the village, which surprised Kiara more than anything. Senlin Village was partially destroyed from something unknown, while as some houses only had skeletal remains of the houses. It seemed that that the destruction was slowly making it's way to the main building of the village where the old man led them.

Inside the building were several families that looked up at their arrival. The elderly man stepped in front of their group and motioned to Aang, "This young man is the Avatar, with his Apprentice behind him over there."

It was quite awkward for Kiara as she was suddenly put on the spot as she had to peek around Sokka for the villagers to see her. All she wanted to do was be away from their prying eyes, yet Sokka stepped aside for Kiara to be seen further. She cleared her throat awkwardly as Aang motioned her to stand beside him, not wanting to be the center of attention by himself. A middle aged man walked up to the duo and bowed in respect, yet had his eyes trained on Aang the entire time. However of his attention being averted to Aang, Kiara felt strange about the man bowing in front of her. She held her hopes high of less people doing that to her.

"So, the rumors of your return are true! It is the greatest honor of a lifetime to be in your presence." The middle aged man told them with a voice of awe, yet Kiara felt as though she should step aside from Aang. It was clear she wasn't in this conversation.

"Nice to meet you too." Aang greeted the man with a small smile after straightening from his own small bow from being polite, "So, is there something that Kiara and I can help you with?" Kiara wanted to scowl at the young boy for dragging her back into the conversation, yet she kept a polite expression on her face. She didn't want a bad impression of her in front of an entire village.

"I'm not sure." The middle aged man stated hesitantly, looking away from the two young teens faces. Kiara exchanged a confused glance with Aang before quickly turning her attention back to the man, who she assumed was the mayor or leader of the village.

"-Our village is in crisis! He is our only hope!" The old man protested loudly, as he came to stand beside the leader then he addressed Aang. It slightly irked Kiara that she was being bluntly ignored. "For the last few days at sunset, a spirit monster comes and attacks our village. He is Hei Bai, the black and white spirit."

"Why is it attacking you?" Sokka asked in a serious, deep voice that made Kiara shiver slightly at the rareness of him being serious.

The middle aged man answered as he leaned against the doorway of the building, "We do not know. But for each of the last three nights, he has abducted one of our own. We are especially fearful because the winter solstice draws near."

Kiara's curiosity got the better of her and spoke up, "What happens then?" Her and Katara accidentally asked in unison, instantly making the girl girls exchange an amused glance with each other. However, while Katara asked politely, Kiara asked bluntly and not so polite as Katara had been.

From behind the group, the elderly man answered for the leader, "As the solstice approaches, the natural world and the Spirit World grow closer and closer until the line between them is blurred completely."

"Oh, that's not really good." Kiara murmured bluntly, making Katara elbow her in the side for being rude.

"No, it isn't good at all," The leader of the village shook his head in dismay, "Hei Bai is already causing devastation and destruction. Once the solstice is here, there is no telling what happens."

Aang stepped up as he stared up at the leader with wide grey eyes that made him look even more innocent, not a powerful Avatar, "So, what exactly do you want us to do?"

"Who better to resolve a crisis between our world and the Spirit World than the Avatar himself?" The elderly man questioned as he crouched slightly in front of the bald boy, again ignoring that Aang referred to his Apprentice. "You are the great bridge between man and spirits."

Kiara frowned slightly as Aang uncertainly looked away from the man's gaze, "Right.. That's me."

"Hey, great bridge guy, could I talk to you for a second?" Katara whispered to Aang quietly before leading him over away from the villagers' prying ears. Katara stood near the open window with a concerned expression on her face, "Aang, you seem a little unsure about all this."

"Pfft, yeah I was gonna say that too." Kiara agreed as she nodded her head firmly as she fixed her gazed at the slightly shorter boy in front of her.

"Yeah, that might be because I don't know anything at all about the Spirit World." Aang mumbled glumly as he looked away from his friends. Katara and Sokka exchanged a nervous glance with each other as Kiara shrugged at them, "It's not like there's someone to teach me this stuff!"

"Hey, no worries. I understand. I'm in the same boat with you, remember?" Kiara grinned slightly at him, cheering the airbender more.

Katara glanced over to Kiara before fixing her gaze back down at the airbender, "So, can you help these people?"

Aang replied with a nervous smile on his face, as he supported Momo,, who was now perched on his shoulder, "I have to try, don't I? Maybe whatever I have to do will just…come to me."

"I think you can do it, Aang." Katara told him with a sincere smile on her tanned face as she tilted her head slightly.

Sokka wore a fake smile as he answered, "Yeah, we're all gonna get eaten by a spirit monster."

"Great encouragement you have, Sokka!" Kiara scoffed sarcastically before reaching up and smacking him at his head. Ignoring his yelp of pain and his glare, Kiara turned to Aang determinedly, "I'm coming with you."

"No, Kiara, I don't want you getting hurt while I'm doing this." Aang protested firmly, making Kiara frown deeply.

"That goes against my job as Apprentice," Kiara replied as she furrowed her eyebrows together, "Aang, I don't want you getting hurt."

Aang smiled at her worrying over him before shaking his head slightly, "I won't get hurt, and you're still not coming with me."

* * *

Kiara pouted slightly as she crossed her arms angrily over her chest. Despite her protesting and complaining for the past hour, Aang still refused of her coming alongside him. Eventually Sokka had agreed with Kiara that Aang shouldn't be going alone. However, it shouldn't be Kiara going with him, because she's apparently too "clumsy" to be going. It only made Kiara complain further. Deep down Kiara knew she wouldn't be any help with her uselessness. Yet, she couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling of Aang going alone. A strong urge was telling her to go with him. The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon which signalled Aang that it was time. He exited the building and stood strongly in the middle of the deserted street awaiting the spirit monster.

After several moments of silence, Aang called out loudly, "Hello, Spirit? Can you hear me? This is the Avatar speaking. I am here to try to help stuff."

Kiara frowned deeper as she watched Aang blindly go through the dangerous area with no organized plan. Aang began saying stuff on the spot nervously at the dark forest in front of him. Kiara knew he felt foolish, and he also looked foolish. Aang ordered strongly that the spirit to leave the village alone and in peace. He used his staff for emphasis that never helped him. As he began to walk back towards the main building awkwardly, Kiara yelped in fear as the spirit materialized behind him. Beside her, Katara and Sokka tensed in fear as well as they stared at the horrifying spirit behind him. Kiara leaned out the window, desperate for Aang's safety, "Aang! Behind you!"

"Uh, you must be the Hei Bai spirit. My name is—" Aang turned around slowly before beginning to introduce himself,only to be cut off when Hei Bai released a bright blue blast of energy from his mouth at him before walking right over him, towards the village. Kiara's heart leapt in her throat as she watched as Aang continuously tried to converse with the horrifying monster. She ignored the two water tribe siblings' arguing, knowing already that Sokka also desperately wanted to help Aang. Her throat was dry as she watched in horror as the spirit was destroying the village further with ease. Aang never gave up on trying to converse with the spirit politely, only to have him being thrown onto a house. A disgruntled scream let Kiara's throat and she instantly ran out the building to save the young airbender. "Kiara! Sokka! No! Come back!"

Looking behind her she saw Sokka determinedly on her trail, going to save Aang as well. Relief flew through her as she realized that Aang would get more help besides herself. As the two teens had gotten closer to Aang and the angry monster, Kiara wondered how in the world would she fight against the monster.

"Hei Bai, over here!" Sokka shouted, breaking Kiara's train of thoughts as he launched his boomerang of the monster. However, Sokka's attack didn't faze the monster nor take notice of the boy. Inhaling deeply, Kiara exhaled as she punched a strong fist towards the spirit, sending an air blast towards the horrifying monster. Anger sparked through her as the monster never took notice once more. Exchanging a glance with Sokka, the two teens raced towards the airbender for more help.

Aang's eyes widened slightly when he saw his two friends running towards him determinedly, "Kiara, Sokka, go back!"

"We'll all fight him together, Aang." The warrior promised as he panted while he stood in front of the airbender with Kiara by his side. She was panting more than him, considering he was more fit than her.

Aang shook his head frantically, "I don't want to fight him unless I—"

The young air nomad was cut off as Hei Bai suddenly grabbed Sokka from behind with his dark arms. A scream erupted of the dark haired girl as she spun on her heel to find the monster fleeting away into the dark forest. Snatching up his glider and snapping it open, Aang began chasing after the fleeing spirit, disappearing into the forest. Not wanting to stay behind him, Kiara began chasing after her friends into the dark shadowy forest. As she began pounding towards the forest, her headache from earlier appeared again as she heaved in air in her lungs. Kiara paid no mind to the headache that pounded in her head. The only thing she was worried about was finding Aang and Sokka. As she reached outside the village walls, her vision began to haze over as she began seeing double of everything. Kiara's running slowed down as she clutched her head at the sudden pain. She shook her head in an attempt to rid herself of the sudden pain and dizziness in her head. However, the more she fought the pain, the stronger it seemed to hit her. Dark spot began clouding her vision, which terrified her further. Kiara grunted softly as the pain began to get overwhelming for her weakening body. The dark spots grew larger as Kiara gave up on fighting the dizziness, and was lost in another wave of dizziness. She faintly felt an impact on the side of her body, yet paid no attention to it as she sighed into the darkness.

* * *

It felt as though someone was slamming a hammer on Kiara's head when she had awoken. Once she attempted to open her eyes, only to have the headache grow from the intense rays on light. Kiara was clueless on where she was or what happened. The last thing she remembered was her chasing after Aang and Sokka, then nothing afterwards. For some reason all she remembered was the extreme dizziness and darkness after that. Kiara's body ached from pain which only reminded her of how weak she was currently. It made it worse that she had no idea of how she had gotten so weak in the first place. Slowly her conscious began properly coming back to her, and Kiara wanted nothing for was water for her dry throat. A groan erupted out of her dry throat after she squinted her eyes at the bright sun. The groan seemed to catch someon's attention because there were footsteps walking towards her. A small fear flowed through Kiara once she wondered if it was an enemy that had caught her when she fainted.

"Oh good! You're awake." A deep raspy voice gently replied, which gave Kiara relief as she realized that it was the elderly man from the previous day. His large, rough hand place itself between her shoulder blades to help Kiara into a sitting position.

Kiara's eyes slowly opened as she stared up at the aged man hopelessly, "Where am I?" Her voice came out raspy, similar to the aged man.

"You're in the main building in the village." The elderly man answered with a sympathetic smile. Kiara paid no mind at the man's pity, she only wanted water.

"C-can I have water?" Kiara sputtered in her raspy voice. It irritated her at how helpless she was currently. Nodding sympathetically, the old man dragged over a large bucket of water that had a ladle sticking out of the water. Carefully, he poured water into the ladle and brought it over to Kiara's dry mouth. Kiara hurriedly drank the cool water to settle her dry throat which helped significantly. "Thank you."

"Uh, what happened?" Kiara asked as she rested her back against the wooden wall with a sigh. Her strength still was weak from whatever had happened. The right side of her body was extremely sore and hurt whenever she moved. Despite her weakness, Kiara felt relieved when she realized her headache was slowly disappearing.

The elderly man gazed down at the dark haired girl in concern before stroking his long white beard. "You don't remember what happened?"

"Um, no. All I remember was chasing after Sokka and Aang.. Wait! Are they alright? Are they back? They aren't hurt are they? What happened to that monster thing? Did it take anyone else?" Kiara asked frantically, panicking more by the passing second. She sat straight and looked around for her friends that seemed nowhere to be found.

The white haired man gently pushed her back against the wooden walls, "Relax, child. You mustn't push yourself so hard. Unfortunately your two friends aren't back from last night, and the water tribe girl is waiting for them. She has been sitting outside waiting for your two friends ever since they left."

Kiara's frown deepened as she looked down in despair. Aang and Sokka could be in pain somewhere out in that forest from that monster. Slowly, Kiara lifted her eyes to meet the old man's light hazel eyes once more. "What happened.. to me?"

"We had found unconscious not to far from the village walls. You didn't appear to have an injuries, yet you never woke up." The white haired man answered slowly, as if afraid the news would hurt her. Kiara's eyebrows furrowed together as she looked away from the man's hazel eyes. She certainly didn't feel any terrible injuries, perhaps a few bruises., but not any serious injuries. Kiara bit down on her bottom lip as she took in this information.

"Oh.. okay. Thank you." Kiara replied offhandedly, knowing she should be polite now. After leaving the bucket of water with Kiara, the elderly man warned her to be careful before leaving her alone in her thoughts. This wasn't the first time she unexpectedly collapsed and ended with no energy in the end. This would be the fourth time during the past few weeks that this had happened. It was the same feeling each time. Energy would quickly drain from her body and she would be hit with dizziness and a headache before fainting. It worried her mother greatly because it disturbed meetings with that idiotic guy's parents. Anger sparked within Kiara at the thought of her arranged marriage with Chang. She wanted to spit at the idiotic man's name. It was a good thing that she left when she did because the supposedly arranged wedding was supposed to be held sometime in the next few weeks. Not wanting to think of the man, Kiara carefully stood to her feet and dragged herself out of the stuffy building that was filled with the villagers. Despite her headache, Kiara now had enough energy to go walk around.

"Hi, Katara." Kiara greeted the waterbender at the walls of the village, who was slumped against the concrete wall. Kiara pressed her back against the wall before sliding down to sit beside her friend. She sighed as she relaxed to gain more energy back. It instantly brought Katara's attention to her.

"Kiara! Oh, are you feeling alright? You collapsed earlier and I didn't know what to do!" Katara frantically asked as she looked over Kiara worriedly. The said girl waved her hand dismissively before appearing more healthy to appease the mother life girl.

"Fine, fine. This isn't the first time it's happened." Kiara replied offhandedly as she gazed into the brightened forest. It didn't look as scary as it did the previous night. It wasn't filled with dark shadows and night animals.

"What do you mean that this happened before?" Katara asked, concern and confusion lacing her tone. It shocked Kiara to have someone concerned and curious about herself. It was normally Kiara worrying about the other person than herself.

Absentmindedly, Kiara played with a lock of her dark hair, "Oh, during the past few weeks I had collapsed three times. This would be my fourth time in the past few weeks. My mother says that I had weak lungs that don't carry enough oxygen in my body, which is the reason I collapse so often."

Katara nodded her head slowly as she took in this information, but didn't respond when she noticed that Kiara was going to continue explaining. Kiara didn't look at Katara when she explained it further, yet she looked at the lock of ebony hair between her fingers, "-But, I don't agree with her. I don't know what causes it, but I can't help but feel that it's so much bigger than that. Whenever I collapse, it feels like someone is taking my energy, not because of lack of oxygen."

Kiara jumped slightly when she felt Katara place a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to find the tanned girl smiling at her, "Don't worry, I'll try and help you figure it out!"

A sense of gratefulness filled Kiara as she grinned at the tanned waterbender. It was a pleasant feeling to have someone watch over and care for you. "Thanks Katara."

Katara seemed to sense that Kiara didn't want to talk about her unknown reason of collapsing, and asked the dark haired girl if she would like to join her on searching for both boys that was somewhere in the large forest. Kiara instantly agreed and the waterbender helped the still weakened girl to her feet. A shiver passed through Kiara and it instantly be wary of someone watching to two girls. She attempted to shake the wary feeling away, yet it never disappeared. A strong pull in her stomach instantly made Kiara curious and suspicious. That strong pull only appeared when Aang was near. Despite the feeling in her stomach, Kiara knew he wasn't around and was out in the forest. She followed Katara to the saddened flying bison who, like the two girls, was in despair of Aang's and Sokka's disappearance..

"Everything will be okay, Appa." Kiara murmured soothingly to the massive animal as she reached out to pet his large nose. She climbed into the saddle, knowing that Katara will be steering Appa. A queasy sensation filled Kiara stomach as they took off from the ground, and tried to ignore the urge to puke. It was like this every time she flew on Appa, considering she was still new to flying.

The duration of the flight was quiet, and Kiara was afraid to break the silent atmosphere. She knew Katara was more stressed over this situation as she was, considering she was closer to both boys. Both girls kept searching the forest from above for miles in hopes of spotting either boy. During the day, Kiara regained her energy and strength instead of being weak all day. The sun begun to set, painting the sky in several beautiful colours and also signalled that it was time to head back. Katara and Kiara was dismayed that they haven't found anyone, yet silently headed back to the village without protesting. Appa was beginning to tire of flying the entire day away. Kiara ignored the queasy sensation as they descended into the quiet village. The sun bathed the village in a beautiful golden light, which Kiara stopped to admire. While you're travelling, you could witness such beautiful things. You don't see anything beautiful in a small town where Kiara came from. Her turquoise eyes squinted against the bright golden sun, and her fingers played with the strings of her tight vest. A dark spot floated in the setting sky, which made Kiara briefly wonder if she was going to collapse once more. However, there was no dizziness or headaches this time. The dark spot gotten closer, and now Kiara could briefly make out a human figure.

"Aang!" Kiara cried out in delight as she raced over to where he begun to land. The lost feeling in her stomach disappeared as she gotten closer to the air nomad. The dark haired girl didn't slow down her running and immediately flung her arms around the bald monk. Aang stumbled back from the sudden impact, and stepped back to support both of their weights. He wrapped his arms around Kiara and smiled slightly at her enthusiasm. "You're never ever ever ever fighting a monster again! If you are, I'm fighting with you! You got that?"

"Got it." Aang chuckled slightly as she released her tight embrace. He never got a chance to recover before Katara launched herself onto him as well after Kiara moved out of his arms. Her thick braid flown around behind her as she hugged the monk.

"You're back!" Katara exclaimed happily, relieved to have the airbender back from disappearing. As she released her hold on him, she glanced around the surrounding area before looking back at the slightly glum monk. "Where's Sokka?"

"I'm not sure.." Aang answered as he looked away from Katara's saddened expression. He didn't want to see her hopeless expression at the mention of her brother. Kiara flung an arm around the airbender's shoulder in a side hug, in an attempt to cheer him up. The sun dipped below the horizon, signalling that night was approaching quickly.

* * *

After a long discussion with Katara, the two girls finally decided that it would be best to inform the young Avatar about Kiara's condition later. Kiara didn't want the young airbender to be worrying about her while he is trying to fight an angry spirit. It would be best for all the attention on how to bring Sokka and the other villagers back safely from the black and white monster. Aang told the two girls that he wanted to face the angry spirit once more tonight, which caused both girls to immediately protest. Kiara shook her head promptly, making her messy hair swish around her and frowned deeply at the boy. He also mentioned that it would be the best if he went alone to face the angry spirit. "What happened to what I told you earlier?" Kiara cried in frustration as she stomped her foot to prove her foot further.

"I don't want you to be taken, nor you getting hurt." Aang shook his head as he stared at his fuming Apprentice. He gripped his staff in both hands as he stared out in the deserted street determinedly.

"Uh, think again. That's not happening. I'm coming with you." Kiara insisted as she stepped closer to the entrance of the main building of the village.

Aang frowned at her stubbornness before shaking his head, "No, Kiara, you're going to get hurt."

"No I won't! I'm going to help you out on fighting this crazy spirit, and that is final." Kiara replied with her tone firm as she stared at him with an eyebrow raised. As if challenging him to disagree once more. Aang pursed his lips together as he stared at her determined turquoise eyes. Kiara shifted her weight on her left leg and perched her hands on her hips as she grinned at the airbender, "-Kay so, I'm taking this silence as a yes. What's the plan?"

* * *

Silence covered the air thickly as Kiara and Aang stood firmly in the deserted street. The only sounds were their breathing, and Kiara briefly wondered if her breathing was causing too much noise. Deep down, Kiara wondered why she insisted on going with Aang. She knew that their plan was well thought out and was going to work, yet she had her doubts. Kiara was afraid for the both of their safety, especially since her earlier collapse. Sticking out her jaw to appear more strong, Kiara stared deeply into the now shadowy forest. The shadowy forest that will have Hei Bai charging out of at any moment. The Hei Bai spirit that will take it's anger out on this innocent village. After several more moments, Aang decided that it was time to give up. He spun on his heel and gestured Kiara to follow him back to the main building where Katara was patiently waiting for their return. Sighing, Kiara obeyed his gesture and begun walking back to the building. Her footsteps were soundless because of the slippers she wore. A sudden crash behind them made Kiara yelp loudly and spun around quickly, nearly losing her balance. Behind the duo was Hei Bai, who was crashing down houses and burning them down with several energy blast at them.

Aang yelped as debris flew around them, and instantly put up an air shield around Kiara and him. Taking a deep breath, Kiara raised of her arms up to strengthen the shield further. From inside the building, Katara shouted loudly at them, catching the spirit's attention. Hei Bai immediately charged towards the building, causing panic to fill Kiara. Exchanging a glance with Aang, they ran after the spirit as fast as they could. Kiara took the lead, and as they gotten closer, she cupped her hands together. When Aang put his clothed foot in her cupped hands, Kiara inhaled deeply before shooting him over the large spirit using a blast of air bending. The impact of shooting Aang high up, caused Kiara to fall to her knees painfully. Instead of focussing on her bruised knees, she watched as Aang gently touched Hei Bai's large forehead as he descended.

"You're the spirit of this forest!" Aang exclaimed suddenly as he landed on the main building's porch in front of Hei Bai, who stood there panting. "Now I understand. You're upset and angry because your home was burned down. When I saw the forest had burned, I was sad and upset, but my friend gave me hope that the forest would grow back." Aang explained to the silent spirit as he pulled the acorn from his pocket. Apparently he saved the acorn that Katara had given him the other day. Aang placed the small acorn in front of the spirit, who gently pick up the acorn with his dark fingers. The size difference was large yet the spirit seemed to have no troubles.

Kiara gaped as she saw Hei Bai silently turn around with the acorn in his fingers, and transform into a giant panda bear. She curled up in a ball to avoid being stepped on as he walked right over her. Personally, Kiara preferred the panda look better than the monster look. As he disappeared, a thick cluster of bamboo appeared at the entrance of the village. Suddenly, people began walking out of the bamboo in a confused state. Kiara realized that it was the villagers that the Hei Bai had taken.

"Sokka!" Katara exclaimed in delight as she rushed towards her confused brother and embraced him tightly. From the middle of the street, Kiara smiled slightly at the touching moment, knowing that they rarely show affection towards one another. Two hands grasped hers, and Kiara looked up to find Aang helping her to her feet with a smile on his face.

"What happened?" Sokka asked confusedly as he rose an eyebrow down to his sister. As Aang and Kiara joined the siblings.

"You were trapped in the Spirit World for twenty-four hours." Katara explained with wide blue eyes, looking up at her older brother with concern, "How are you feeling?"

"Like I seriously need to use the bathroom." With that, Sokka rushed away towards the village's restroom leaving an annoyed Katara. Kiara snorted loudly before rolling her eyes as she rubbed her sore knees.

* * *

"Thank you Avatar," The leader of the village bowed in respect in front of their rejoined group of four. Once the village has proper reunions with their loved ones that had been taken from Hei Bai, the leader deemed it was safe enough to wander freely once more. "If only there was a way to repay you for what you have done."

"Are you kidding me? I helped too!" Kiara whispered over to Katara angrily, who jabbed her side for being rude. However, she nodded her head in agreement at the dark haired girl's statement.

"You could give us supplies," Sokka told them with a large grin on his face, "-And money."

Turning towards her brother with a glare, Katara jabbed Sokka's side as well, "Sokka!"

"What? We need stuff!" Sokka replied with a slight pout, which made Kiara lean over from her spot between the younger ones of the group to glare at him.

"It would be an honor to help you prepare for your journey." The leader of the village smiled he bowed once more in front of their group. He lead several other villagers away to help gather supplies for their group.

"I'm so proud of you, Aang." Katara said to the young boy with a bright smile on her tanned face as she touched Aang's shoulder lightly, "You figured out what to do, all on your own."

Kiara punched his other shoulder slightly as she grinned down at the young monk, "See? I told you not to worry about it. I knew you could do it."

"Actually, I did have a little bit of help." Aang stated with a slight sheepish expression on his face as he glanced between each member of the group. His bright smile drooped as he looked away with downcast eyes, "-And there's something else."

"What is it?" Kiara asked, smirking when she saw that Sokka was about to ask the same question. He turned to glare at her, which she pointedly ignored.

Aang glanced between the two older teens, then towards Katara with his large stormy eyes, "I need to talk to Roku, and I think I found a way to contact his spirit."

"That's great!" Katara replied enthusiastically with a large smile on her face.

Sokka rose an eyebrow at the young airbender, "Creepy, but great!"

"I'm down for it." Kiara grinned as she shrugged, prompting Aang to return her grin.

Aang smiled at the three friends, ignoring Sokka's comment, "There's a temple on a crescent shaped island. If I go there on the solstice, I'll be able to speak to him!"

"-But the solstice is tomorrow!" Katara cried out worriedly, as Sokka and Kiara exchanged an uneasy glance. Kiara awkwardly cleared her throat as she motioned in the direction of the massive flying bison.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Kiara exclaimed as she begun walking over to the animal, ignoring the irritation in her knees.

"There's one more problem," Aang said uncertainly, making Kiara halt her walking to turn around to face the young boy, "The island is in the Fire Nation."

"Aw, you gotta be kidding me!" Kiara whined as she slammed her palm on her forehead. Katara and Sokka exchanged a fearful glance before staring at the uneasy monk in disbelief.

* * *

_**Okay so, this is a shorter chapter than the rest of them considering Kiara's collapse earlier. I really wish to know how you guys are thinking of this story! And I **__**know**__** people are reading this, so please give me a review and let me know! **_

_**Like it? Hate it? Lemme know in a review!**_


	7. The Winter's Solstice: Part 2

Dawn was approaching slowly, as you could tell from the slight brightening in the dark skies above. The atmosphere was filled with soft breathing and the occasional snore. However, despite the comfortable atmosphere, Katara knew better. It didn't take a genius to realize that the young Avatar was attempting to leave the safe village and his friends behind. The young waterbender had taken short naps throughout the night in order to make sure that Aang didn't leave without his friends. The last time Katara awoken she had noticed Aang's bed was empty, and instantly knew that he left. Without wasting time, Katara crawled over to her brother's sleeping mat and shook his shoulder in an attempt to wake him up. "Sokka! Wake up, Aang just left to go to the Fire Nation!"

With a few grumbles and yawns, Sokka surprisingly woke up without being his usual grumpy self. It was probably because of the seriousness in this situation, Katara noted. Sighing, the tanned waterbender glanced over her shoulder to the figure underneath the bundle of blankets. Crawling over to the bundle of blankets, Katara sighed once more as she gently pulled the blankets away from Kiara's face. Instantly, Katara thought back to the previous night when she found Kiara unconscious on the ground. The waterbender frowned before shaking the sleeping girl's shoulder, knowing this will be a tough time. "Kiara, you have to wake up now! Aang left already!"

Kiara rolled away from Katara's shaking hand, which made the waterbender sigh in slight frustration. "Kiara, wake up now."

"Kiara. Wake. Up." Katara pressed on, shaking her further which seemed to have no effect on the sleeping girl. Knowing that Kiara was a heavy sleeper, and certainly not a morning person, Katara wouldn't of had been concerned. Normally, Kiara would throw an insult or protest of waking up. Katara leaned over Kiara to properly look at her sleeping face, only to frown at the slight purple rings underneath her eyes.

"Psst. Sokka, come pick her up." Katara motioned him over as she began to gather her supplies and fold her sleeping mat.

"What? Why do I always have to do this?" Sokka complained quietly as he strapped on his boomerang sheath.

Stopping her folding, Katara threw a glare over her shoulder to her complaining brother, "Aang's leaving! We haven't got much time! Just pick her up!"

Groaning at his sister's orders, Sokka rolled his eyes before taking the bundle of blankets off of the sleeping girl. With his sister's help, the two managed to place the sleeping Kiara onto Sokka's back. It was a more comfortable position for the both teenagers, considering Sokka didn't have to run to Aang with her in his arms. Immediately, both water tribe siblings hurried out of the quiet building where several families still slept soundly. It never took the two siblings long to find Aang. He was currently attempting to drag the ten tonne beast out of the village, and was clearly failing. Appa planted his six paws on the ground firmly and refused to move.

"Let's go, Appa! Come on boy! Look, I'm sorry, but Katara, Kiara and Sokka aren't coming with us to the Fire Nation with us. If they got hurt, I'd never forgive myself." Aang told his furry companion sadly, but continued to attempt to drag Appa away, "-So get your big butt off the ground, and let's go!"

"I think his big butt is trying to tell you something." Sokka smirked as he adjusted Kiara on his back. Her head rested at the crook of his neck with her messy hair sprawling in every direction, causing it to tickle his bare neck.

"Please don't go," Katara pleaded as she took a step toward Aang, "The world can't afford to lose you to the Fire Nation, and neither can I!"

Aang frowned as he pursed his lips while he glanced between his three friends. He was silent for a moment before throwing out his arms to prove his point further, "But I have to talk to Avatar Roku to find out what my vision means! I need to go to the Fire Temple before the sun sets on the solstice. That's today!"

On that statement, Aang used his airbending to lift him onto Appa's head and gripped the reins in his hands. He sent a saddened look over his shoulder before flicking the reins and moving forward. Instantly, Katara and Sokka shot out in front of Appa's path to block them from moving further. Katara frowned before protesting firmly, "We're not letting you go into the Fire Nation, Aang."

"Oh my Spirits! We're coming Aang, and there's no point of trying to stop us. Now will you all shut your mouths so I can sleep in peace?" Kiara shouted from behind Sokka, making the other three jump at the sudden voice. She lifted her head off Sokka's shoulder to glare at Aang, challenging him to argue further with the irritated girl.

Sokka smirked up at the airbender, "Yeah, you're not going. At least not without your friends. We got your back." At that statement, Appa moved forward and licked Sokka, leaving a large trail of spit on him. Kiara groaned loudly at her now spit covered hands and legs that have been licked on.

"It's is a long journey to the Crescent 'll have to fly fast to have any chance of making it before sundown. Good Luck." The leader of the village bowed once more as he handed Aang a bundle of supplies as the other three crawled into the saddle. Instantly, Kiara grabbed a blanket before lying down on the wooden saddle.

"Thank you for your-"

"Go!" The village leader cut the young monk off as he urged the group to begin their long journey. He pointed into the direction of the Fire Nation seriously, and Aang nodded appreciatively down at him.

"Appa yip-yip!"

* * *

Frowning grumpily down at the ocean, Kiara sighed as she knew there wouldn't be any use of attempting to sleep anymore. Every so often, Aang would urge Appa to fly faster if they were to make it to the Crescent Island on time. It was silent for the majority of the ride as they flew towards the Fire Nation. Kiara begun to tire of the quietness of the ride as she stared down at the endless waves of the ocean. "I'm tired." Kiara complained as she slumped against the side of the saddle.

Katara shot her a concerned glance, as if afraid something terrible would happen, "Are you feeling alright?"

That caught Aang's attention as he turned around to glance between both girls curiously. Sokka, on the other hand, looked at the three confusedly. Running her fingers through her hair that flowed in the wind, Kiara furrowed her eyebrows at Katara's question. Her concern was great as she stared over at the dark haired girl with wide blue eyes. As Kiara was about to respond, Aang beat her to it, "Alright? Why wouldn't she be alright?"

Kiara's eyes had widened as she realized what Katara's concern was about. Slowly she begun to shake her head at Katara, hoping that she would take the hint and leave it alone. Kiara certainly didn't want him worrying over her when he needed to get to Crescent Island. Unfortunately, Katara never caught Kiara's hint and turned to Aang, "When you and Sokka disappeared, Kiara collapsed outside of the village. I found her unconscious and brought her back to the building."

"Katara!" Kiara exclaimed exasperated at how easily she told Aang. Aang and Sokka were now looking over at her in concern and disbelief.

"What? I mean, how did you collapse? Are you feeling alright? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Aang asked as his full attention were now focussed on the fidgeting girl at the back of the saddle.

"It's nothing, I'm fine." Kiara insisted as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked down towards the ocean. She could feel the stares of her friends, yet she continued to avoid eye contact. The atmosphere grew awkward as Kiara refused to explain or have eye contact.

"Kiara, please-" Aang was cut off once more this day as Katara screamed in horror.

"Aang! We got trouble!" Katara announced loudly as she gazed down at the ocean, catching the rest of the group's attention. Gazing behind the saddle towards the ocean, Kiara gasped at the sight of a Fire Nation ship sailing at full speed towards them. The ship was made of entire metal and had dark smoke shooting out of the smokestack of the ship.

Sokka squawked as he noticed the large ship trailing behind them as well, "Yeah! And it's gaining fast!"

"We're not done talking about this, Kiara!" Aang shouted from the reins as he urged Appa to fly faster, away from the trailing ship. Kiara pursed her lips together as she stared worriedly at the metal ship down below. Her eyes squinted as she noted an orange dot from the Fire Nation ship. Her turquoise eyes widened as she realized that the orange dot had gotten closer towards them, "Guys! There's a fireball coming towards us!"

As Aang steered Appa away from the flying fireball, Kiara noted that they were safe as the fireball dropped down to the ocean. Then, Kiara gagged loudly at the after stench that lingered in the air from the fireball. After urging Appa to fly faster, Aang frowned as he mentioned that there was yet another problem in their way. Kiara yelped in fear as she saw the lineage of heavy metal Fire Nation ships lined in an organized fashion. Fear settled in Kiara's stomach as she watched as they flew closer to the blockade.

"If we fly north, we can go around the Fire Nation ships and avoid the blockade." Aang called back to the three sitting fearfully in the saddle, "It's the only way!"

Katara immediately shot down that idea, "There's no time!"

"This is exactly why I didn't want you guys to come!" Aang called out as he tried to be reasonable, "It's too dangerous!"

"And this is exactly why we're here!" Katara called back sternly, knowing Aang wouldn't argue with that tone of voice.

"Let's run down this blockade!" Sokka cheered loudly as Appa flew even closer.

Kiara gripped the saddle as she looked down at her doom, "We're going to die.."

* * *

"We're. Going. To. Die." Kiara chanted to herself as she clutched the saddle for dear life. Fireballs shot at the group in every direction, sending stench to fill their innocent noses. Appa weaved in and out of the flying fireballs that were continuously being flung at them. Two fireballs crashed into each other right in the path of Appa, causing soot and embers to land on his fur. Frantically, the rest of the group patted down the embers as Appa groaned in pain. The massive animal flew higher into the cloud filled sky to avoid being hit by more fireballs. Kiara heart raced as they flew above the clouds, blind of the upcoming fireballs that appeared out of nowhere. Screaming loudly, Kiara clutched the saddle harder as fear pounded through her. Another pair of fireballs collided together, causing smoke to irritate Appa's eyes as he jerked back. As the furry animal jerked back, it caused Sokka to go flying out of the saddle. Screaming once more, Kiara frantically reached out to his outstretched arm to pull him back into the saddle. She missed by inches as Sokka began falling to the unpredictable ocean down below.

"Sokka!" Aang shouted as he steered Appa down below the cloud barrier and down towards the deep blue ocean. From their steep descent, Kiara felt herself being lifted out of the saddle yet clung to it for dear life as she dangled in the air. Her stomach threatened to release her dinner from the previous night. As they had gotten dangerously close to the ocean, Aang yanked on the reins hard to pull Appa upwards to catch the free falling warrior. Katara reached up and grabbed her brother's hand before reeling him into the saddle once more. Kiara glanced up at the dangerously close blockade and realized that they were waiting for the perfect time to launch their next wave of fireballs. She hurriedly made her way beside Aang on Appa's head just in time as they released the fireballs. Kiara grasped the reins after Aang thrusted them to her and fearlessly jumping off Appa. He flipped in the air and kicked a blast of air in the fireball that was on a deadly course for them. The fireball instantly broke in crumbled as Aang begun to fly backwards, losing his momentum. Kiara held the reins in one hand as she wrapped her other around the shocked airbender. She let him regain his surroundings and took over the reins.

"We made it!" Aang whooped in joy after they passed through the blockade.

Kiara exhaled deeply as she attempted to recover from the shock of the recent events. Sokka, in the same state as her, replied blankly, "We got into the Fire Nation. Great."

"That was terrifying. I thought we were goners." Kiara blinked as she put a hand over her racing heart. Her messy dark hair flew around her vision, finally irritating her enough for her to tie her hair in a high ponytail. It wasn't a perfect sleek ponytail, it was more of the messier side, yet it kept the hair out of her eyes. "At least we're alright!"

"Speaking of alright.." Aang trailed off as he eyed the smiling girl who froze from his statement, "Kiara, why didn't you tell us you weren't feeling well?" Aang asked concernedly as he stared up at her with large grey eyes.

Biting down on her bottom lip, Kiara kept Aang's eye contact as she stayed silent for a couple moments, "It wasn't important at the time."

"You're saying your well-being isn't important?" Sokka asked as he cross his arms over his face while he rose an unamused eyebrow. Kiara glanced over to Katara slightly bitter at her for mentioned her well-being.

Kiara shrugged as she climbed back into the saddle, "It's no big deal, it's probably some sickness I picked up."

"Kiara, you didn't say that when you woke up from being unconscious. It's no ordinary sickness that you suddenly lose of your energy, getting a headache and getting dizzy in a split second." Katara told her with her eyes filled with concern. Kiara wanted to glare at the waterbender for bringing more of the topic up, despite knowing she was only concerned.

"We'll figure it out some other time, when we are in enemy territory!" Sokka exclaimed as he narrowed his eyes on the horizon. Rolling her eyes at the warrior, Kiara wrapped a blue blanket around her body before laying down on the saddle in attempt to get some sleep. It was hard finding sleep considering Momo's constant squawking for food and Katara and Aang's talking. However, after a long time, Kiara eventually relaxed long enough to find the long awaited sleep she desperately wanted.

* * *

"You did it buddy. Nice flying!" Aang praised his furry companion that was visibly exhausted from his constant flying and the fireball attack. They had landed on their destination island that was quite literally in a crescent shape with a large volcano in the middle of the island. Lava flowed down the sides of the volcano in a scary looking way. Aang decided to land Appa behind a stone bridge to hide him from view, yet close enough if they needed him. Kiara stood back slightly to admire the construction of the temple. It had several stories to the temple and was beautifully decorated from bottom to top.

"Awe, you must be tired," Katara cooed as she rubbed Appa's large belly as he groaned at the pleasant sensation.

"No, I'm good! Refreshed and ready to fight some firebender!" Sokka answered, misunderstanding of whom Katara was speaking to.

Katara turned around to give her brother a deadpanned look as she replied drily, "I was talking to Appa."

"Well, I was talking to Kiara!" Sokka replied as wrapped his arm over her shoulders to prove his point further.

"You were?" Kiara asked as she zoned into the conversation from previously being distracted by the beauty of the temple. Katara giggled at her brother crestfallen expression on his face as he noticed that Kiara wasn't paying attention to him whatsoever.

* * *

Observing the temple in a closer range took Kiara's breath away as they stood in front of the temple stairs. It was quite the long walk to get up to the actual temple, which hurt Kiara's feet. Sokka noted that there were no guards, which was strange considering it was one of the more sacred places in the world. Katara explained to the group that the temple probably had been deserted after Avatar Roku passed away over a hundred years ago. It only furthered Kiara's curiosity of the ancient temple that was completely foreign to her. As they quietly walked inside the temple, Kiara gazed around the enormous spacious room as she followed Aang into the temple.

"Wait," Sokka said suddenly as he stopped walking, "I think I heard something."

The group turned around to find five aged man dressed in matching red uniforms standing in an entrance appearing intimated. Kiara took a step back at their appearance as the leader spoke up, "We are the five Fire Sages. Guardians of the temple of the Avatar."

"Great!" Aang piped up cheerfully, and motioned to himself and a shocked Kiara "I am the Avatar, and this is my Apprentice!"

"We know." The leader replied briskly as he inhaled deeply before sending three powerful blasts of fire in their direction. Kiara stepped backwards just as Aang stepped forward to disperse the fire with airbending. Bits of embers flew towards herself and the water tribe siblings, and Kiara instinctively brought up her arms defensively. Her arms slashed at the embers, causing small air blasts to blow the embers away. Kiara glanced down at her hands in amazement at the sudden skill she showed.

"I'll hold them off! Run!" Kiara was hesitant to obey Aang's order, yet Sokka grabbed her wrist and dragged her behind him. Kiara struggled to catch up with the older boy's fast pace, thanks to his longer legs. As they ran down a hallway, Aang suddenly came screeching in front of them.

"Follow me!" Aang exclaimed as he turned down a hallway.

"Do you know where you're going?" Sokka asked suddenly as the three chased after the young monk.

"Nope!" Aang replied as he turned down a hallway, only to run back out frantically, "Wrong way!" As the group attempted to rid themselves of the Fire Sage that was trailing behind them. They ended up charging into a dead end, and Aang frantically tried to open the small window with no avail. The Fire Sage appeared in front of them with his hands up, that made Kiara tense at appearance. Her foot slid backwards defensively with her arms were raised cautiously.

The Fire Sage told with gently, nearly pleading, "I don't want to fight you! I'm a friend."

"Firebenders aren't are friends," Sokka hissed from the back of the group.

Kiara being the closest on the the firebender, shifted her stance so she stood protectively in front of the three. With a determined expression on his face, Aang attempted to step in front of Kiara, however she held him back with a firm arm. The Fire Sage surprised them by bowing down in front of the duo and saying, "I know why you're here, Avatar."

"You do?" Aang asked as he poking his head over Kiara's shoulder and straightening from his defensive position.

"Yes," The Sage answered, "You wish to speak to Avatar Roku. I can take you to him."

"How?" Kiara couldn't help but asking the elderly Sage, her eyes were narrowed on the man, "And who exactly are you?"

"I am Shyu." The Fire Sage answered as he slightly bowed to her, surprising her at his formality.

The quartet watched as he slid back a lamplight on the wall then placed his palm on the spot the lamp used to be, focusing his firebending in that area which caused a secret passage to open, "This way will lead you to Avatar Roku."

The four hesitate a moment as they stared up at the Sage with their different coloured eyes until the lead Fire Sage's voice echoed down the hall.

"Time is running out!" Shyu insisted as he looked down the hall then gestured to the secret passageway, "Quickly!"

Kiara exchanged a quick glance with Aang before following him shortly after him into the bright passageway. She glanced over her shoulder to find that Katara was directly behind her with Sokka close behind. The Fire Sage, Shyu, suspiciously glanced around before closing the door to the secret passageway.

"Avatar Roku once called this temple his home. He formed these secret passageways out of the magma." Shyu explained as they walked deeper into the temple. Sweat lined Kiara's hairline as she wiped away the moisture. Kiara wasn't used to being in such high temperatures, and she was sure that Katara and Sokka felt the same way as she did.

"That's pretty cool." Kiara commented as she observed the magma dripping down the walls.

"Did you know Avatar Roku?" Aang couldn't help but ask, which made Kiara roll her eyes at the back of his head. Did the man look that old?

Shyu shook his head, "No, but my grandfather knew him. Many generations of the Fire Sages have guarded this temple before me. We have a strong spiritual connection to this place."

"How did you know I was coming?" Aang asked again, his questions never ending. This question sparked Kiara's curiosity and she glanced over to Shyu who was now leading the group. Kiara gazed over to the magma flowed downhill to her right.

"A few weeks ago, an amazing thing occurred," Shyu explained as they began walking up a set of stairs beside the flowing magma, "The statue of Avatar Roku, its eyes began to glow!"

"That's when we were at the Air Temple." Katara commented, "Avatar Roku's eyes were glowing there too!"

"At that moment, we knew you had returned to the world." Kiara couldn't help the slight feeling of being left out on something important, yet she never spoke up.

"If this is the Avatar's temple, why did the sages attack me?" Aang questioned, looking at Shyu's back imploringly.

"Things have changed." Shyu stated regretfully as he looked away, "In the past, the sages were loyal only to the Avatar. When Roku died, the sages eagerly awaited for the next Avatar to return. But he never came."

Aang stopped walking and looked down guiltily as he placed his hand on the warm cave wall "They were waiting for me."

"Hey don't feel bad." Sokka said, putting a hand on the younger boy's shoulder with a smirk plastered on his tanned face, "You're only a hundred years late."

Aang scowled at the older boy and Kiara stepped forward to punch Sokka in the shoulder with her knuckles. He threw a glare over to the dark haired girl as he rubbed his now sore shoulder that would be sure to bruise. Making a face at the tall boy, Kiara continued to follow the Sage prompting the others to do the same. The Fire Sage glanced back to a now glum Aang curiously, "If I may ask, are you a fully realized Avatar?"

"Sorry, but I'm not." Aang shook his head sadly, "I have mastered air, and am on a journey to master the other three elements."

The Fire Sage nodded wisely, "Oh, I was only curious for your Apprentice's sake."

"Uh, what do you mean by that?" Kiara asked curiously as she exchanged a strange glance with Aang. She was glad she was now brought into the conversation.

"It is very unusual for an Avatar who is not fully realized to try to go into the Avatar state to contact the Spirit World. It is very draining for him or her, so that Avatar is forced to temporarily use his Apprentice's spirit to enter the Spirit World." The Fire Sage explained as he lead them up another set of stairs.

Kiara's mouth dropped open at this information. Her feet slowed down as she thought about this further. Aang, noticing Kiara's vacant expression, turned to Shyu worriedly, "Maybe I shouldn't do this. I mean I don't want to hurt Kiara when I contact Roku!"

"I apologize, I didn't mean it like that. Going into the Avatar state while not being fully realized will not hurt your Apprentice here. What I had meant was that when you go into the Avatar state and use her spirit, she will simply go unconscious for the duration of the time, or if it is for a prolonged time, after she awakens, she will not be able to use your home element. In this case, it will be airbending." After Shyu properly explained how the situation works, Kiara realized that it wasn't as bad as she originally thought. What she thought Shyu had meant was that Aang would be taking her spirit away from her whenever he went into the Spirit world. However, she realized that he was simply borrowing it. It didn't sound that great, yet it was better than earlier.

"That's why I passed out all of those time during the past few weeks," Kiara noted as she continued walking and kept her gaze on the floor, "You kept going in the Spirit World, so you had to use my spirit. I don't had weak lungs after all!"

"That's correct," Shyu responded as they ascended a large spiral staircase. "The Avatar and the Apprentice's spirits are intertwined with each other. The Avatar also temporarily uses your spirit whenever he goes into the Avatar State."

"Oh..okay." Kiara nodded politely as she gazed on the red hand rail in thought. The way Shyu had explained it, it seemed as though she was only being used for energy. Just another great thing about being the Apprentice, Kiara thought bitterly. Taking out her ponytail, Kiara let her messy locks of hair cover her facial expressions from the others. She couldn't help the frown that drooped itself onto her group continued to walk in silence as they continued up the flight of spiral stairs that seemed to never end until Shyu began speaking again as they neared the top.

"Once you're inside, wait for the light to hit Avatar Roku's statue. Only then will you be able to speak with him."

The quartet watched as Shyu slid back a secret tile from the floor above and looked around cautiously before climbing out. The others followed the Fire Sage's example and climbed out of the stairway. They followed Shyu into a large room that had massive columns with dragon statues atop them supporting the high roof. In the far center of the room had an enormous door with five open-mouthed dragons decorating the door. Kiara felt her breath taken away as she gazed around this beautifully decorated room .

Shyu gasped loudly before moaning in dismay, "No!"

"Shyu, what's wrong?" Aang asked concernedly as attempted to look at whatever had caused Shyu to gasp over the man's shoulder.

The Fire Sage cried in despair as he gazed up at the huge door, "The sanctuary doors, they are closed!"

Aang attempted to tug open at the doors, however they didn't budge one bit. Katara looked at Shyu questioning as she motioned to the elderly man.

"Can't you just open them with Firebending? Like you opened that other door?" Katara asked as she stared up at the Sage with wide blue eyes.

"No." Shyu replied grimly with a small shake of his head, "Only a fully realized Avatar is powerful enough to open this door alone. Otherwise, the Sages must open this door together with five simultaneous fire blasts."

The group was surrounded in silence before Sokka spoke up grinning as he thoughtfully stared at the lamplight, "Five fire blasts, huh? I think I can help you out."

* * *

Sitting on the marble flooring, Kiara held open a skin casing wide enough for Sokka to pour lamp oil inside. The Water Tribe warrior grinned throughout the entire time the duo had been sealing lamp oil inside the skin casings. Curiously, Kiara gazed up at the tanned warrior as he explained what their small project has to offer, "This is a little trick I picked up from my father. I seal the lamp oil in an animal skin casing, Shyu lights the oil soaked twine and ta-da! Fake Firebending!"

"Impressive." Kiara hummed thoughtfully as she observed the oil filled skin casing in her hands.

"You've really outdone yourself this time, Sokka." Katara stated as she stared at her brother and his impressive handiwork.

"This actually might work." The Fire Sage murmured thoughtfully as he watched the two teenagers insert the skin casings into each individual dragon's mouths. Unfortunately, Kiara wasn't nearly as tall as Sokka, so she resulted on using the tips of her toes to put the oil filled casings in the mouths. "The Sages will hear the explosion. As soon as they go out, you must rush in!"

Kiara rushed to her designated spot beside Aang, who was hiding behind a pillar. She gazed down at the air nomad determinedly, and noticed how much mature he looked when he was being serious. From the next pillar beside theirs, Katara leaned over slightly from her hiding spot, "It's almost sundown, you ready?"

Aang nodded confidently at the waterbender, "Definitely."

It was silent for a moment as Kiara realized that as the airbender would rush in to contact the former Avatar, she would be drained of energy. She certainly didn't want another bruise caking the side of her body from when she collapsed. Biting her lip, Kiara looked up to Sokka at his hiding spot. "Sokka!"

"What?" He asked as he took out his fingers from his ears, and gazed down at the slightly nervous girl.

"When Aang goes to talk to Roku, I'm gonna pass out again. Can you make sure nothing bad happens to me?" Kiara asked slightly humiliated at the fact of her speaking of her being vulnerable. It was a difference from her usual confident and sarcastic attitude.

Smirking over at the messy haired girl, Sokka nodded his head, "Sure."

Avoiding eye contact with Sokka, Kiara hid further behind the massive pillar when she saw Shyu get into an attacking stance. As Sokka did, Kiara plugged her ears with her fingers to avoid having her eardrums bursting. A sudden loud boom echoed throughout the temple, making Kiara cringed at the loudness. Aang immediately left her side to rush to the doors. Smoke filled the room as Kiara curiously peeked over the pillar towards the doors. She frowned as she saw that Sokka's project failed them. Aang cried out in dismay as he stood dumbfounded in front of the closed doors, "It's still locked!"

"It didn't work." The Fire Sage replied grimly as he sadly stared at the door. Kiara resisted the urge to snap at the old man for stating the obvious, however, she bit her tongue to avoid doing so. The room began to slightly tremble as Kiara's hair began flying in every direction, making her cling to the pillar tensely. Furiously, Aang send several powerful blasts at the closed door, making Kiara flinch at his ferocity.

"Why. Won't. It. Open?!" Aang shouted between each blast of air.

Katara immediately grabbed the boy's arm and firmly shouted, "Aang, stop!"

Finding it safe to do so, Kiara walked over to the group that stood in front of the doors glumly. Aang stared down at the floor with downcast eyes, away from everyone's gazes. "I'm sorry I put you all this for nothing."

Standing on the tips of her toes, Kiara gazed through a dragon head's mouth in confusion. The fake firebending should have worked. Sokka, thinking along the same lines, "I don't get it. That blast looked as strong as any firebending I've seen."

"It should have worked." Kiara muttered confusedly, her voice echoing throughout the dragon's mouth. She jumped visibly as Katara suddenly shouted brightly.

"Sokka! You're a genius!"

"Wait," Aang said with his eyebrows furrowing together, "How is Sokka a genius? He plan didn't even work."

"Come on, Aang. Let her dream." Sokka replied smugly as he crossed his arms over his chest. Narrowing her eyes, Kiara jabbed her elbow into his side. For the billionth time, Sokka yelped from her violent actions.

Katara perched her hands on her hips as she nodded in affirmation to Aang, "You're right. Sokka's plan didn't work, but it looked like it did!"

"Okay, now I understand." Kiara told them, sharing a smirk with Katara, which only confused the youngest of their group further.

"Did the definition of genius change in the past hundred years?"

* * *

"Come quickly! The Avatar has entered the sanctuary!" Covering a hand over her mouth, Kiara muffled her giggling at the other Sage's stupidity. They were gullible enough to believe that Aang had successfully entered the sanctuary. The kid was only twelve years old, for Spirit's sake! A smirk made it's way onto Kiara's face as she waited for the signal. Kiara was currently hiding behind one of the massive pillars, waiting for her moment to attack. This whole plan was personally thrilling for Kiara, and anxiousness filled her.

"Open the door immediately! Before he contacts Avatar Roku!"

Poking her head around the massive stone pillar, Kiara saw as the five Fire Sages inhaled in unison. She noticed that each of the Sages wore exactly the same uniform the Shyu was wearing, that rustle as they moved forward to blast fire into each dragon's heads. Wincing as she felt a wave of heat from the fire, Kiara waited anxiously for the signal.

"It's the Avatar's lemur! We've been tricked!" The Fire Sage's deep voice rumbled angrily, making Kiara snort as the plan was working flawlessly. Rushing over to the Sage's, Kiara eyed her target before harshly yanking a Sage's hat down his face and kicking his feet from under him as he struggled to take off his red hat. Panting, Kiara instantly grabbed his hand and pinned it behind his back as he laid down in surprise from the sudden attack.

"Now, Aang!" Shyu yelled as he pinned his fellow Fire Sage down on the ground. It was silent for several moments as Aang never appeared like he was supposed to. Kiara's eyebrows furrowed together in concern and confusion. Where was he?

"Aang! Now's your chance!" Katara shouted in the direction of where Aang was hiding.

Kiara gasped loudly in shock as she watched as Aang slowly walked out from behind the pillar with a teenager holding him roughly. The teenager wore Fire Nation armour that immediately made Kiara tense. His head was shaved around his tight ponytail at the crown of his head. Kiara gasped at the sight of a large burned area covering the left eye of the teenager's face. "The Avatar is coming with me!"

Rage flowed through Kiara as she realized that he was stopping Aang's chance from contacting his past self. She knew instantly that this teenaged boy was their enemy, whoever he was. A sense of protectiveness raced through she body as she watched Aang fearfully struggle in the teenager's rough grip. Shooting to her feet, Kiara raced towards the pair angrily. Inhaling deeply, Kiara absentmindedly felt her hands quickly move around on her right side before thrusting out in the teenager's direction as he moved to drag Aang to the secret passageway. He tumbled down to the marble floor from the surprise attack with a shout. She felt her mouth open in surprise at the powerful blast of air she had just made. Kiara exchanged a shocked glance with Aang before she shouted at him, "Go!"

In an instant, Aang raced towards the direction of where Kiara was pointing to, which was the now open doors. Glancing behind her, Kiara gasped in horror as she watched Katara and Sokka begin to get chained to a nearby pillar. From the corner of her eye, she saw Shyu being retrained from his fellow Fire Sage. Knowing she was the only member of their group free, Kiara moved to help her restrained friends. Her turquoise eyes widened as she felt two strong arms wrap around her waist tightly, effectively pinning her arms to her sides. Fear pounded within her as she felt herself being pressed up against someone's hard chest. She winced as she felt armour digging into her back. "Looks like I found the Avatar's Apprentice. It must be my lucky day."

Kiara visibly shivered not only at the teenager's cold words, yet at his warm breath that tickled her ear. She fearfully began to attempt to wiggle herself out of his strong hold of her, only to have his arms tighten around her. Her head thrashed around from her struggling, making her hair fly everywhere once more, "Let me go, you freak!"

"You filthy peasant, you have no right to speak to me like that. I am Prince Zuko, heir to the throne of the Fire Nation." The teenager, Zuko, hissed into her ear. Earning another visible shiver from Kiara, who widened her eyes at the name. It was the teenager who constantly trying to capture Aang.

"And I'm Kiara, the girl who doesn't give a shit. Now let me go!" Kiara snapped angrily as she continued to struggle within his arms. Fear pounded through her as she began to feel light headed, and she instantly realized that Aang was going into the Spirit world to contact Avatar Roku. Despite her the lightness in her head, Kiara attempted to ignore it to escape from the teenager.

Zuko hissed into her ear once more as he tightened his armoured arms around her, not realizing that it was worsening her state further, "No. You and the Avatar will help me return home."

"Not..happening.." Kiara breathed out as a wave of dizziness hit her. Dark spots danced around her vision as a headache pounded in her head. It didn't help her that Zuko was crushing her ribcage. Kiara began to see double as her vision hazed over for the fifth time in the past month. Another wave of dizziness hit her, effectively stopping her struggling as she focussed on the pain in her head. Energy quickling drained from her body as she felt weak take over her once more. Knowing that it made the pain worse if Kiara fought it, she simply decided to let it take it's course.

* * *

The dark haired girl's body fell limp in the fire bender's arms, making his eyes widen at her state. Her head hung down, letting her tresses of hair cover her face. Thinking quickly, Zuko held the limp girl in one arm as he placed two fingers at the side of her neck. He let out a breath that he was holding when he felt a steady pulse before shaking his head at his stupidity. Zuko lowered the limp Kiara on the marble tiled floor before tying her hands together with roped that was originally meant for the Avatar. Leaving Kiara laying helpless on the floor, Zuko stalked up to the dragon doors. Each of the dragon's heads on the double doors looked intimidating yet it never fazed anyone in the hall. Ordering the remaining loyal Sages coldly to help him, Zuko and the Fire Sages attempted to blast powerful fire into each of the locks. However the locks never budges open.

"Why isn't it working? It's sealed shut!" Zuko demanded frustrated as he glared at the doors.

"It must have been the light," The aged leader of the Fire Sages replied deeply, "Avatar Roku doesn't want us inside."

Angrily, the prince of the Fire Nation rounded on the kneeling Shyu, "Why did you help the Avatar?"

"Because it was once the Sages' duty," Shyu answered in a deep voice as he looked down to the marble flooring, "It is still our duty."

It was silent for a moment before clapping echoed throughout the great hall of the temple. Everyone turn their attention to whoever made the clapping, only to find a large armoured man with several firebenders standing at the top of the main staircase. The large man had cold cruel eyes with an arrogant smirk plastered onto his face. "What a moving and heartfelt performance. I'm certain the Fire Lord will understand, when you have explained why you have betrayed him."

The aged leader of the Fire Sages stepped up and bowed deeply in front of the haughty man, "Commander Zhao."

"And Prince Zuko," Zhao smirked as he stared down the prince, "It was a noble effort, but your smokescreen didn't work. Two traitors in a day, the Fire Lord will be pleased."

"It's too late, Zhao," Zuko spat out venomously, "The Avatar's inside and the doors are sealed!"

"No matter," Zhao replied offhandedly, "Sooner or later, he'll have to come out."

A thick silence took over the atmosphere as Katara and Sokka exchanged a worried glance for their friend. There was no mistaking that Zhao was correct, eventually Aang will come out of those doors. Only to be captured the next second by this cruel man. He gave off an over confidence aura that made anyone cringe. He had his soldiers chain Zuko alone on a stone pillar similar to the water tribe siblings. Zhao observed his surroundings with that arrogant smirk that seemed permanent on his face. It wasn't until he noticed a bright green figure from the corner of his eye. Laying on the ground with her arms pinned back was the unconscious Kiara that looked completely vulnerable. Both siblings and surprisingly Zuko all shifted in their restrained spots as they watched the man walk towards the helpless girl. Motioning his soldiers to hold her up, Zhao smirked at the three's fearful reactions. "And who do we have here?"

"Sir, this is the Avatar's Apprentice." The leader of the Sages instantly replied with a respectful bow. It is clear that he was trying to get on Zhao's good side. The said man's smirk impossibly grew larger as he watched his prisoner's squirm uncomfortably.

"It seems to me that I had shot two bird with one stone," Zhao's replied darkly as he observed the unconsciously girl. Lifting her hanging face from her chin, he studied her expressionless face closely. Her dark lashes brushed her slightly flushed cheeks, which was the cause of being so close to the volcano. Kiara's mouth was parted slightly as she gently breathed in and out. "Perhaps the Fire Lord will let me have her for capturing the Avatar."

"Don't touch her!" Sokka shouted angrily at the man as he struggled against the metal chains that held him. He gritted his teeth at the sight of Zhao had taken such an interest in Kiara. It was bad enough that he had broken his unsaid promise to catch her while she collapsed from lack of spirit and energy, but to let Zuko be the one to catch her. Now she was vulnerable to the danger she was oblivious about.

Katara cried out as she shouted angrily at the firebender, "Leave her alone!"

"Seeing the position you filthy peasants are in, you can't do nothing about this. Once the Avatar comes out from those doors, we will capture him and take all of you back to the Fire Nation. I don't necessarily care what happens to either of you, I am more concerned about the Avatar and his Apprentice here." Zhao remarked cruelly as he glanced over his shoulder towards the two struggling siblings. He caressed Kiara's cheek in cold affection before turning his attention back towards the dragon headed doors. It was obvious that he was attracted to the unconscious girl, which his prisoners found quite disgusting considering the age difference.

"When those doors open, unleash all your firepower!" Zhao demanded as he glued his eyes onto the sealed doors.

Katara nervously glanced over to her right, where her brother was restrained, "How is Aang going to make it out of this?"

Scoffing down at his younger sister, Sokka replied just as nervous, "How are we going to make it out of this one?"

* * *

White light poured through the cracks of the double doors as they began to open, prompting everyone in the hall to suck in a deep breath as they were blinded by the light. The Firebenders that were stationed around the doors in an offensive stance beside Zhao were fazed by the blinding light. Steam poured out from the cracks in the door, making everyone turn away not just from the steam but from the brightening light. The light began to die down as the doors began to open widen further, revealing two glowing eyes staring angrily at the surrounding people in the hall. Katara struggled harshly against the chains as she cried out in warning, "Aang! No!"

"Fire!" Zhao's voice rang throughout the spacious hall before a large wave of heat hit the prisoners. In unison, all of the offensive fire benders drew all of their energy into their fire as they blasted their fire towards the figure in the doorway. The massive fire wave lit up the entire temple as it swirled around the glowing eyed person. The swirling fire suddenly broke as it revealed Avatar Roku standing in the doorway completely untouched with intimidating glowing eyes. Avatar Roku stared down at Zhao, who stared back with horror stricken eyes

From beside the amazed Katara and Sokka, Shyu stared at the supposedly deceased man in awe, "Avatar Roku."

The former Avatar drew the swirl of fire around him into a large sphere around his palms before launching the flames back towards the shocked firebenders. As the fire was launched back it melted the metal chains off of the restrained prisoners. When the chains were melted off, the heir to the Fire Nation immediately raced towards the secret passageway before he could get captured once more. During his escape, Prince Zuko apparently forgotten about the unconscious Apprentice on the marble tiled floor. The fire blast was powerful enough to blast the wall of the temple into crumbles, revealing the outside of the island. Taking this moment of surprise to his advantage, Sokka raced over the battling area towards the unconscious Apprentice on the floor. Thankfully, she was low enough on the ground to avoid the massive fire blast that Roku had made and resulted unharmed. Sighing in relief, Sokka gathered Kiara into his arms before racing back to where his sister was still located with Shyu. Thinking quickly, Sokka shifted Kiara into his arms so Katara could untie the ropes that pinned her arms behind her back. It was quite difficult to shift Kiara in his arms, because she was limp and unbalanced. However, the two siblings quickly maneuvered to escape the furious Avatar's wrath. Avatar Roku soon turned his furious gaze onto his supposedly loyal Fire Sages, who in turn fled from his furious wrath. The remaining loyal Fire Sage turned to the crouch next to the three teenagers worriedly, "Avatar Roku's going to destroy the temple! We have to get out of here."

"Not without Aang." Katara shouted determinedly over the panicking that everyone made as they went to escape the temple.

Aang's former self sliced his hand downwards toward the floor, making it melt in half of the outer sanctuary, leaving a fiery molten trail. Steadily, Avatar Roku lifted his hand that caused the flowing lava below to shoot straight upwards, effectively destroying several areas of the temple. The lava exploded in several directions as Roku controlled the searing hot magma. Thinking quickly once more, Sokka shoved the limp Kiara into Katara's arms before he covered both of the girls' body as much as possible as debris flew everywhere. A loud exhale was heard shortly after the magma stopping shooting upwards from the volcano, causing the siblings to look up curiously. Peeking around the pillar that they hid behind, the two siblings squinted against the rushing smoke that flew back around Avatar Roku's body. As the smoke cleared, Katara and Sokka gasped at the sight of the returned Aang as he tumbled down to the floor. Taking Kiara back into his arm, Sokka rushed behind Katara towards the fallen Avatar.

"We got your guys' back." Sokka grinned, not able to comfort the weakened Avatar as he held Kiara. It made Aang glance up to grin thankfully at the warrior before his eyes widened as he stared at Kiara. Despite being weak, he stood up quickly and placed a hand over her shoulder before frantically staring up at Sokka.

"Is she hurt?" Aang asked worriedly just before he slumped against Katara, who quickly wrapped her arms around the air nomad.

Sokka shook his head as he glanced down at the resting girl in his arms. "No, she just collapsed."

"We have to get out of here!" Katara cried fearfully as she observed the surrounding area quickly. Running towards the stairwell, they skidded to a stop as they stared in horror at the rising lava. As a massive pillar toppled down, Sokka's grip tightened on Kiara's body tensely. Running towards the only available exit, which happened to be the giant hole in the wall, they stare in horror at the sight of the large distance to the ground. The sky was painted a deep orange and shimmered against the surrounding ocean.

A loud groan snapped the trio out of their dooming thoughts, making them all snap their heads at the source of the sound. Grins grew on their faces at the sight of their furry companions flying to their rescue. As the massive animal had gotten close enough, Sokka gripped his arms around Kiara tightly before he followed closely behind the younger ones of the group out of the giant hole. Sokka gritted his teeth together tightly as he landed onto Appa roughly. His face softened as he gently laid the teenaged girl onto the saddle, who still looked vulnerable and helpless. Katara took over the reins to let the weakened Avatar have rest after his journey into the Spirit world and shortly after going into the Avatar State. It was quite draining on a person, not to mention to people. It was clear that both Aang and Kiara will need to catch up on some much need rest to regain their energies and rest. Not arguing with the waterbender, the Avatar soon cuddled up on the saddle before instantly falling into a deep slumber. Turning around at her spot at the reins, Katara gazed sadly at the two energy drained friends at the saddle. She knew that Kiara will be quite weak the next day, and will most likely be in pain. At that thought, Katara flicked the reins towards the darkening skies.

* * *

"Thanks for going with me you guys, I actually learned something really important that Roku was trying to tell me." Aang murmured grimly as he stared intensely into the flickering flames of their camp fire. As soon as the group reached Earth Kingdom territory, Katara immediately landed on the closest land possible, resulting in setting camp tiredly at a lone island. The entire flight was silent as the two members of their group slowly caught up on their much needed sleep. However, when they eventually landed, it appeared that the long sleep they had wasn't enough. Aang stared aimlessly into the fire with his eyes hazed over, while Kiara grumpily curled herself into a ball in her blankets near the fire.

Despite her anger towards whoever had woken her up, Kiara glanced up at Aang tiredly. There were dark rings under her eyes, that made the trio cringe slightly, "What is it?"

"Well, it all starts with the beginning of the war," Aang explained quietly as he stared into the fire as if it were his thoughts, "To start the war the Fire Nation used this comet called Sozin's comet to start their attack on the other nations, particularly the Air Nomads. This comet basically enhanced their firebending to a big extent."

"Well, that's horrible, but what does it have to do with now?" Katara asked curiously as concern danced around her eyes. The fire reflected off her eyes, enhancing her blue eyes brightly.

Aang continued to gaze grimly down at the fire miserably, "The thing is this comet comes around every hundred years and since it's been a hundred years since the war has started, it's coming this year, the end of this summer."

"So you mean this giant flaming rock that makes firebenders even more dangerous is coming this summer. What does Roku want you to do about it? Fly up there and somehow stop it?" Sokka asked bluntly as he ate a handful of nuts. He too was wrapped in a bundle of blankets from the cold, despite being so close to the equator.

"No, I can't stop it, that is the problem. So he said that I need to learn all three other elements before the end of the summer and defeat the Fire Lord or it will be too late," The air nomad answered suddenly as his breath quickened at the very thought of defeating the most powerful firebender in the world. His calloused thumbs danced around each other after he saw the utterly shocked faces of his friends.

Despite her weakened and tired body, Kiara frowned at the thought of Aang having to defeat the powerful firebender at such a young age. Anxiety was clearly written across the young airbender's face, making him appear more younger and hopeless than ever. Kiara felt her face softened before crawling towards him in her blankets. Ignoring how ridiculous she felt as she crawled, Kiara nudged the airbender in his shoulder. Aang looked over to his right towards the confident teenager glumly. "Kay so, you just have to quicken your pace a tad faster, so what? We'll already halfway to the North Pole, and with your kickass powers, Kiara being a waterbender, boomerang guy over there, and my ninja skills, I'm pretty sure we can kick his ass."

"Like we said back at the temple," Sokka added as he grinned at Kiara's tired speech that was filled with curses, "We got your back."

"But what if I fail?" Aang asked nervously with the smallest smile on his face from Kiara's odd encouragement. The waterbender made a disapproving sound with her tongue as she shook her head at the airbender.

Katara gave the airbender a stern gaze before her lips quirked upward, "Well, if you say it like that, you will fail. If you dwell on the fact that you might fail then you will. But if you allow yourself to hope then you have something to fight for and dream about a better future."

A small slowly crept it's way up Aang face as he gazed up at the tanned waterbender adoringly, "You're right Katara, I do have something to fight for, you guys.""

"That's right, and you are our reason too," Katara responded maturely, and Kiara personally thought that she acted mature too often. "-But right now you don't need to fight, you need to rest. I can see that being in the Avatar State twice in two days has tired you out."

Aang obeyed Katara's orders without a second thought as he stood up tiredly. He shuffled his way towards where Appa slept soundly with his occasional snoring. The tired airbender curled up onto his companion as he snuggled into the warm fur that covered his friend. Taking his example, Kiara ungracefully flopped down beside one of Appa's six legs with a loud and high pitched yawn. Exhaustion hit her similarly like the dizziness had earlier on that day. As she snuggled her face into her blanket, Kiara groaned loudly as her armpits begun to ache badly. Rolling onto her stomach, Kiara rubbed her sore armpits tenderly, "My armpits hurts."

"That's probably when Zhao had his guards holding you up." Katara answered sympathetically as she slipped into her sleeping bag as well. It matched with everything else she owned, it was a deep blue in colour.

"Eh? Who's that?" Alertness crossed over Kiara's exhausted mind as she stared at the other girl in their group with widened eyes.

"He was the Commander who was leading the group that was attacking Aang." Sokka piped in bitterly, making Kiara whip her head at the warrior confusedly. Tilting her head to the side, Kiara's thought began racing wildly.

"Wait, there was someone else other than Zuko at the temple?" Aang asked suddenly as he sat straight up alertly as he glanced between the remaining trio.

Kiara dark eyebrows furrowed together in confusion as she continued to rub her aching armpits. "Actually? Since when did he get there?"

"Oh right, you two were either unconscious or possessed by a dead Avatar. Well he is this guy who is serious enemies with Zuko, which is strange considering they are from the same nation. Anyways, he's the typical ruthless firebender, he was the one that you had to defend yourself from." Sokka answered once more as he laid down onto his stomach, staring between at the connected friends.

Nodding her head slowly as she processed this information, Kiara couldn't get over the fact that some strangers were holding her while she passed out. The very thought made her shiver uncomfortably as she stared tiredly into the fire. Aang, who was still processing this information shot back another question, "If he's after me, then why did he have his soldiers hold Kiara?"

"He was really interested that Kiara was the Apprentice, and kept eying her like she was piece of meat. He was just being super creepy and said something about claiming her." Sneering at the memory, Sokka observed both of their reactions. Being a young and innocent child, Aang certainly didn't understand the concept of 'claiming Kiara'. However, it seemed that Kiara understood as a look of disgust crossed her exhausted face.

Kiara sneered at the thought and felt utterly violated, "Please don't tell me what I think it means."

"Let's just hope not. But keep away from him. He kept giving you these creepy looks." Sokka responded as he frowned before snuggling into his sleeping bag. Blinking at his statement, Kiara couldn't decide on whether or not to be disgusted in Zhao or happy that Sokka was showing slight protectiveness.

"There's nothing we can do about it now," Katara replied with a final tone as she listened in on their conversation, "Get some sleep, you three."

Kiara couldn't sleep now, knowing that some creepy firebender wanted to claim her. Pulling her green blanket over her nose, Kiara gazed uncomfortably up at the stars that painted the night skies. Normally, gazing at the stars would comfort her slightly, however it wasn't the case this time. Turning unhappily onto her side, the messy haired girl stared at the water tribe teenager's back. A small smile crept onto her face as she realized that he kept his promise to her and his slight protectiveness towards her. Kiara whispered quietly in Sokka's direction as the flames of the fireplace begun to die slowly, "Hey, Sokka?"

"Hm?" The warrior mumbled sleepily as he turned to her direction. His eyebrows furrowed together at the sight of her smile, instantly getting suspicious of her actions.

"Thanks."

* * *

_**Alright, this chapter is longer than the rest of them slightly. I would be delighted if my silent readers would let me know how they think of this story! I have put up anonymous reviewing if some of you are too shy to talk to me. Again, please review and let me know how you think of it! If this story doesn't get many reviews, then I will think that no one likes it, and would consider taking this story down.**_

_**If you don't want that, then please review!^^**_

_**I am looking for someone to be a beta for my story! I am looking for someone who will be committed into this as well. PM me if you're interested! **_


	8. The Waterbending Scroll

Biting her lip down in irritation, Kiara glared at the beautiful scenery around her. The Apprentice had been taking naps throughout the morning to regain more energy; however, she kept on getting rudely awoken by the Avatar's constant pacing on his massive companion. This time when she was awoken, she was breath taken as they were flying between the mountain tops above the clouds. Occasional trees that could survive at this altitude clung to the sides of the mountain. The sunlight above poured down through the light clouds above like spotlights shining down on the thick barrier of clouds below. Kiara couldn't enjoy the beautiful scenery by Aang's constant pacing and heavy breathing beside her. The weakened Apprentice had to resist snapping at the pacing airbender all morning, and had just started to lose her cool.

"Will you sit down?!" Sokka exclaimed irritably, also annoyed with the bald monk as Kiara was. He eyed the pacing boy over his shoulder at his stop at steering Appa. "If we hit a bump, you'll be flying off!"

"Thank you!" Kiara exclaimed exasperated as she threw her hands in the air.

Sokka returned to his steering just after he called over his shoulder, "What's bugging you anyways?"

"It's what Avatar Roku said," Aang answered instantly, wanting to vent his troubles to Sokka, "I'm supposed to master all four elements before the comet arrives!"

Rolling her brightly coloured eyes at the monk, Kiara tightened the blanket around her shoulders, "Well you can't master the elements by pacing around! Now sit down!"

"Well, let's see," Sokka added sarcastically, "You pretty much mastered airbending, and that only took you a hundred and twelve years. I'm sure you could master all three elements by next summer."

Groaning in irritation, Kiara crawled over to the top of the saddle and leaned over to smack the warrior at the back of his head, earning a familiar yelp in the process. "Not helping!"

Just as Aang begun to sit down, like Kiara demanded him to, he froze at the words coming out of Sokka's mouth. His stormy grey eyes widened frightfully as he begun to pace around the saddle once more, irritating Kiara further. Aang threw his arms in the air to prove his point further as he moaned in dismay, "That's the problem! I haven't even started waterbending and we're still weeks away from the North Pole! What am I going to do?"

With a sigh, Katara grabbed Aang's wrist and gently pulled him down to sit in front of her. A reassuring smile grew on Katara's face as she stared at the panicking airbender. "Calm down. If you want, I could teach you some of the stuff I know!"

"You'd do that?" Aang asked amazed at the waterbender with a relieved smile on his face.

Kiara's eyebrows shot upwards at the waterbender's offer. If her duty was supposed to be protecting Aang, she should actually be able to protect him. That strong gust of air she had created two days ago was a small burst of luck. Debating on whether or not to speak up, Kiara awkwardly shuffled in her cocoon of blankets towards the duo, "Katara?"

"Yes?" The said girl hummed her response happily as she averted her attention onto the older girl.

"Uh, could you teach me to? I barely know how to waterbend." Asking, Kiara fiddled with a fistful of her large blanket in her hands. She knew it would the best if Aang could get all the help he could receive, yet she was hoping that she could grab some help along the way as well.

To Kiara's surprise, Katara sweetly smiled over to her as she nodded. "No problem! But, first, we to find a good source of water to teach you both."

Grinning excitedly, Kiara could barely contain her excitement. Just under a month ago, all she could ever do was dream to learn how to bend her two elements. Now she is slowly learning the beautiful elements. Unfortunately, waterbending and airbending comes along with grace and balance. Two things Kiara certainly did not have whatsoever.

"Maybe we could find a puddle for you three to splash in." Sokka smirked smugly over his shoulder, knowing that his sister gets worked up over the fact that he mocks the art of waterbending.

"You're just asking me to beat you up, huh Sokka?" Kiara asked deadpanned voice as she rose an eyebrow at the warrior.

Sokka snorted loudly, "As if a girl could beat me up!"

"Suki beat you up." Katara added as she was offended once again by Sokka's sexists taunts.

Setting his jaw out in a pout, Sokka turned back to his steering, "It was a surprise attack!"

"You keep telling yourself that." Kiara snickered loudly as she shared a knowing smirk with Katara, who also snickered behind her hand.

* * *

"Like my puddle, Sokka?" Smirking smugly over her shoulder as she stared up to Sokka, who glared unamused at the sight of the enormous waterfall gushing above them. The waterfall powerfully fell from a cut off mountain and flowed down into a river. Sokka turned his unamused glare at Kiara who smirked up back at him, her turquoise eyes twinkling with mischief. Sokka scoffed loudly at her smugness and nudged her slightly to prove his point to stop mocking him. His slight nudge caught her by surprise and made her lose her balance. With a loud yelp, Kiara ungracefully attempted to gather her balance back, yet ended up falling on her bottom. "You know, I just love being pushed to the ground."

"It's your fault." Sokka replied immaturely as he stuck his jaw out stubbornly.

Raising an eyebrow at the stubborn teenager, Kiara scoffed before standing to her feet. Her hands dusted off any dirt on her bottom as she narrowed her eyes at Sokka. Her eyes travelled onto the flying bison who had happily splashed into the water with a pleased groan. After having to fly everyday and carry so much weight, it was relaxing for the bison to play in the water.

"Don't start without me, boy!" Kiara's eyes widened at the fact that Aang was only in his underwear attire, and stripped himself of his air nomad clothing so quickly. He was stopped in the middle of a run as Katara dryly reminded him of the reason that they landed at the waterfall. Straightening his back, Aang looked back to Katara with a sheepish grin on his face, "Oh, right. Time to practice waterbending!"

"Great," Sokka drawled sarcastically at the two benders, "What am I supposed to do?"

"You could clean the gunk out of Appa's toes!" The airbender replied innocently as he held a branch towards Sokka, who looked disgusted at the innocent branch.

Crossing his arms over his chest once more, Sokka frowned deeply at the airbender, "So, while you guys are playing in the water, I'm supposed to be hard at work picking mud out of a giant bison's feet?"

"Mud and bugs!" Aang answered with a smile, with his arm still outstretched holding the branch.

Sokka sighed before shrugged his shoulders carelessly, "Okay."

"Ready, Kiara?" Katara asked brightly as soon as her brother walked away to do his chore. A grin crept its way up onto Kiara's face as she nodded enthusiastically. The Apprentice walked over to where Katara stood in front of the cross legged monk and stood comfortably beside Aang.

"Okay, this is a pretty basic move, but it took me months to perfect. So don't get frustrated if you don't get it right away." Katara informed them positively. Kiara immediately took notice of the pride that radiated off Katara because of her teaching waterbending that she learnt on her own. The said girl took a readied stance in front of the gentle water before inhaling deeply. She began shifting her weight between her left and right feet as she continuously bent her wrist to a rhythm, "Just push and pull the water like this. The key is getting the wrist movement right."

"Like this?" Aang asked as he mimicked the waterbender's movements, however, no water bent at his will. Taking the air nomad's example, Kiara stood on the other side of Katara and inhaled slightly nervously. Nervousness and excitement filled her at the thought of bending. What if she couldn't do this? What if she's going to make a fool out of herself in front of them? Shaking the thoughts out of her head for now, Kiara bit her bottom lip as she shifted her right foot in front of her body. Then, she slowly shifted her weight between her back and front legs to get used to the feeling.

"That's almost right," Katara praised the airbender kindly, not to put him down, "If you keep practicing, I'm sure eventually-"

"Hey, I'm bending already!" Aang's excited voice rang out suddenly, breaking Kiara's train of thought. Surprised, both girls glanced over towards Aang to find him easily bending the water as instructed. Kiara felt her mouth drop in shock as she watched him bend the water with ease. She was barely getting used to the feeling of shifting her weight, and he already knew how to bend!

"Wow, I can't believe you got that so quickly." Katara stated with a stunned expression on her face. Like Kiara, Katara was also surprised that the young boy had learnt the move so quickly. "It took me two months to learn that move."

Brushing off the compliment, Aang shrugged at Katara's statement with a slight grin on his face. His grin soon turned into a smile as he stared over at Katara, "Well, you had to figure it out all on your own. I'm lucky enough to have a great teacher."

"Thanks." Katara smiled sweetly back at the airbender's praise. Then, the waterbender turned around towards a still stunned Kiara, "Kiara, how are you doing?"

Not wanting to seem as if she was slacking behind the two waterbenders, Kiara instantly stood straighter and plastered a fake smile on her face. Her faked smile was perfect, considering all of the times she had to fake a smile to either appease people or hide her emotions. "Great! It's coming together!"

"So, what's next?" Aang asked eagerly, his excitement radiating out, so much that Kiara cringed as she felt it.

"This is a more difficult move. I call it streaming the water." Katara answered with a smile on her face at the boy's eagerness. Leaning forward, Katara flicked her wrist forward and continued to hold her hands up as if she was holding something. A stream of water from the river rising into the air as Katara began moving it around. Memorizing the younger girl's movements, Kiara slowly leaned forwards and held her hands outwards towards the water as Katara continued to explain further, "It's harder than it looks, so don't be disappointed if—"

Glancing up curiously as to why Katara had stopped talking, Kiara pursed her lips together as she saw Aang bending the water easily once more. Like Katara, Kiara watched Aang do a series of different tricks with his stream of water with a dead panned expression. For the second time in a row, Kiara barely begun to start the waterbending move and Aang had already begun moving the water easily. Lifting a hand to her mouth, Kiara coughed loudly as she muttered 'show off' into her hand. As the two benders turned to glance at her concretely, Kiara simply faked another smile reassuringly.

"Nice work." Katara complimented after she turned back to Aang, a bit grudgingly then frowned, "Though the over-the-head flare was unnecessary."

"Sorry." Aang apologized, not necessarily meaning it, then looked over at Katara excitedly, "Well, don't stop now! Keep 'em coming!"

Katara frowned slightly before motioning over to Kiara, "Wait, what about Kiara?"

"Oh no, don't worry about me." Kiara replied grudgingly with a wave of dismissal. She was irritated at both of the waterbenders for unknowingly ignoring her. Kiara knew that she should give them a break considering it was Aang who really needed to learn waterbending. Relearn it, was the better statement.

Nodding distractedly as Katara eyed Aang over her shoulder, she turned away her back on both Aang and Kiara towards the cool water. "Well, I kind of know this other move, but it's pretty hard. I haven't totally figured it out yet. The idea is a big powerful wave."

Shifting her weight backwards, Katara lifted her hands behind her before balancing her weight as she rose both hands. Her sky blue eyes stared intensely at the flowing water as she concentrated on moving the water. Kiara eyed the younger girl's trembling hands as the water slowly moved to her command. The water suddenly dropped, earning a frustrated grunt from Katara. Memorizing the movements once more, Kiara steadied her breath before leaning backwards with her hands raised like Katara had done. She steadied her balance as her hands were outstretched towards the water. Kiara's eyes narrowed at the faint energy she felt underneath her hands as she concentrated on the water. Just as the water rippled under her command, bringing excitement to Kiara, she was suddenly knocked over from a cool mass. Yelping unintentionally, Kiara's eyes widened as she sucked in a mouthful of water from her yelp. She felt herself instantly get soaked to the bone as her clothes clung tightly onto her. As the water washed down river, Kiara's soaked hair covered her vision as it dripped water constantly.

"Aang!" Kiara scolded between her coughing fit to get all of the water out of her system that she unintentionally inhaled. Her heaved up and down rapidly with each cough. The leather vest that was tied tightly felt as if it was suffocating her, so she quickly untied the string that held it together.

"Sorry, sorry!" Aang apologized quickly as he ran over to the fallen girl. Grabbing her arms, Aang easily helped the irritated girl to her feet. Kiara's lips pursed together tightly as she narrowed her eyes at the boy, knowing clearly that this was his fault. Her hands pushed away the hairs that clung to her face irritably. Wanting to help his Apprentice, Aang gusted a blast of air towards the girl to dry her off.

The blast of air only made her slightly drier and her hair stick backwards uncomfortably. "Okay, okay. That's enough." Kiara waved him off dismissively, not wanting his help anymore. It only furthered her annoyance; first, she was being shown up three times. Second, she had gotten soaked to the bone. Finally, third, she had nearly just been blown away with her hair awkwardly sticking backwards. Heaving a sigh, Kiara attempted to flatten her awkward hair as she kicked off her damp shoes.

"You just practiced our stuff down the river!" Sokka exclaimed as he too was attacked by Aang wave of water. Sitting unamused in the bank, Sokka glared over at the cringing air nomad.

"Uh, sorry." Aang replied hesitantly, "I'm sure we can find somewhere to replace all this stuff."

"My life was hard enough when you were just an airbender." Sokka grumbled grumpily to himself.

Despite her irritation from practicing, Kiara cracked a sarcastic smirk upon her face as she called over to Sokka, "And just think, Sokka! He's also an earthbender and a firebender!"

* * *

After reading the map, the group had discovered that there was a docking port just walking distance away from their camping spot. Kiara attempted to carefully walk barefoot throughout the forest because her slippers were still damp. She cringed every time she stepped onto a rock or twig. "Ow. Ow. Shit. Ow. Spirits. Ow."

"What are you doing now?" Sokka asked annoyed at her constant mutters of pain, making her glance up surprised that he was talking to her. Kiara had thought that she was quiet enough to not get anyone's attention.

Holding up her shoes that she carried, Kiara sighed as she glanced down to her scrapped feet. "My shoes are still wet because of Aang, and I don't want to walk in soggy shoes because that is gross."

"You poor baby." Sokka remarked sarcastically, making her glare instantly at him.

"You know what? Because of that, you're going to give me a ride." Kiara huffed unamused at the teenager's remark.

Rolling his eyes at Kiara, Sokka turned back walking, "No way."

Kiara scoffed at him walking away from her and bluntly refusing her order. Her feet were scrapped and blistered from walking onto rocks. A smirk crept its way onto her face as she stared at his back. Taking a painful step forward, Kiara jumped onto his back, immediately wrapping her arms around his neck to support her, "I don't think so."

Sokka yelped at the sudden weight on his back and tumbled to catch his lost balance. His arms instinctively wrapped under her knees that clung to his hips. Laughing out loud at Sokka's slight tumble, Kiara smirked mischievously. His walking stopped as he tried to look at Kiara over his shoulder in bewildernment, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, ya know, catching a ride." Kiara replied offhandedly through her smirk, "See? My feet are sore!"

Sokka eyed her slight tanned feet that had scraps all over, then down where her hands were hanging over his chest. In her hands she held both of her brown slippers that were still damp. Sokka heaved a sigh, knowing that there was no getting out of this before he continued walking. Hearing snickering, Kiara curiously looked to her right to find both Katara and Aang snickering at the teenagers. Kiara simply smirked at the duo before lazily resting her chin on Sokka's shoulder to purposely annoy him further.

* * *

By the time the quartet had reached the port, Kiara had hopped off of Sokka's back and quickly slipped on her dried shoes to appear civilized. Her gaze swept over the crowded streets and she quickly raked her fingers through her hair to appear less like a wild animal. As they entered the busy streets, Kiara's eyes narrowed in wariness at the sight of the suspicious men that eyed her and Katara. The men were intimidating and rough that put Kiara on edge. All of the men gave off a seedy feeling. Noticing a man's eyes raking up and down her body instantly made her feel violated. Kiara leaned closer to Sokka as she felt their piercing gazes on her. It honestly scared her of what they would do if she was alone.

Like Aang, Kiara did not want to shop for supplies considering she didn't necessarily know what they needed. Therefore, the two water tribe siblings went into all of the merchandiser's stores to gather the supplies they needed. Aang did want to follow the stores with the siblings and asked Kiara if she wanted to go. She didn't want to shop nor did she want to be alone, so she made up an excuse that she was tired from practicing earlier. Fortunately, the air nomad believed her lie and offered to stay outside with her. The truth was that Kiara didn't want to stay outside with all of the creepy men around alone.

"We've got exactly three copper pieces left from the money King Bumi gave us." Sokka told them as he and Katara returned from an alleyway where a store was located.

A sheepish grin appeared on Aang's face, which made Kiara suspicious, "Make that two copper pieces. I couldn't say no to this whistle!"

Kiara quirked an eyebrow at the bison shaped whistle in the air nomad's hands as he held it proudly. Curiosity took over as she watched Aang take a deep breath and blew into the whistle, barely making a sound.

"It doesn't even work." Sokka exclaimed as he pulled his fingers from his ears, having expected a loud noise from the whistle. Aang stopped blowing on the whistle as Momo squawked at him in irritation, "See? Even Momo thinks it's a piece of junk."

"No offense, Aang, but I'll hold the money from now on." Katara replied gently, not wanting to offend him. Aang reluctantly handed the remaining money into Katara's outstretched hand. As the group begun walking through the marketing street once more, Kiara sent Aang a sympathetic smile when she saw his pout. Her earlier frustration eased away when she realized that it was stupid to be angry at a twelve year old kid who was simply relearning how to waterbend. It would only be natural for him to pick up easily on waterbending.

Kiara caught up to Sokka's pace, ignoring his curious look, and narrowed her eyes at the odd looking man. His long face stuck out from his long hair, making his bright lips stand out more. Kiara briefly wondered if the man was wearing lipstick. "Earth Nation! Fire Nation! Water Nation! So long as bargains are your inclinations, you're welcome here! Don't be shy, come on by!"

The three other teenagers knew when to avoid advertisers, and all bluntly ignored the man. However, Kiara groaned quietly as she realized that Aang had fallen for the advertiser's convincing. She grumbled under her breath as she saw the man steering Aang towards the suspicious ship that the store was located. Kiara dragged her feet uninterestingly towards the ship after sharing a exasperated glance with Sokka and Katara.

On the inside of the ship, Kiara had to blink several times for her eyes to get adjusted to the poorly lit store. As soon as her eyes adjusted to light, her wide eyes took in the variety of the products that they sold. Majority of the products were foreign to Kiara, which instantly caught her attention. There were a few things that were centuries old and most likely cost a large amount of gold pieces. A sudden raspy voice that instantly made Kiara shiver broke the quieted atmosphere, "That's a fine specimen of lemur. That beast would fetch me a hefty sum if you'd be interested in bartering."

To appear less frantic, Kiara casually gazed over her shoulder and froze at the sight of the man entering the small shop. From first glance it was clear that he was a pirate, an obvious one that had a reptile bird cawing on his shoulder. The lemur the pirate was speaking about felt threatened and began hissing back at the bird, making Aang hold him protectively to his chest, "Momo's not for sale."

An awkward silence covered the atmosphere before Katara soon broke it with an excited gasp, "Look at this, guys! It's a waterbending scroll! Check out these crazy moves!"

Curiosity took over once again and Kiara made her way to peer over the waterbender's shoulder. On the scroll was several waterbending moves in exquisite detail. Each move was laid out in perfect order. Immediately, Aang glanced back up at the pirate that owned the ship, "Where did you get a waterbending scroll?"

The broad shouldered pirate instantly took notice of the observations the group was taking and snatched the scroll from Katara's unsuspecting hands. He replied in his deep raspy voice, "Let's just say I got it up North, at a most reasonable price: free."

"Wait a minute," Sokka trailed off thoughtfully before exclaiming loudly with his eyebrows raised, "Sea loving traders, with suspiciously acquired merchandise, and pet reptile birds?"

Turning towards the advertisers from the street, Sokka shouted loudly as he accidentally spit ont the man's face, "You guys are pirates!"

The long faced pirate wrapped a lean arm on Sokka's shoulders with a wink, "We prefer to think of ourselves as, high risk traders."

Taking notice of how uncomfortable Sokka was under the arm of the lean pirate, Kiara grabbed Sokka's arm before pulling him away from the long faced man, "Right, I'm sure you do."

"So, how much for the, uh, traded, scroll?" Katara asked sarcastically after glancing down at the two copper pieces she held in her hand.

"I've already got a buyer, a nobleman in the Earth Kingdom." The captain said coolly then his voice turned less serious as he looked down at the two with a mocked grin on his sun tanned face, "Unless of course, you kids have two hundred gold pieces on you right now."

"I know how deal with these guys, Katara. Pirates love to haggle." Kiara overheard Aang telling Katara and rose an eyebrow, interested at how he is going to play this out with a master haggler. Like Kiara, Katara quirked an eyebrow before blinking as she placed their last two coins into the air nomad's awaiting hand.

"Watch and learn." Aang replied with a smug smirk as he sauntered over to the counter once Katara handed over their remaining money. At that moment, Kiara regretted buying the hairbrush that she barely used. She wasted valuable money that they could have used on more supplies. Her attention was brought back when Aang leaned against it and began talking in a deep and raspy voice that sounded awfully like a pirate's voice, "Let's say to the price of, one copper piece!"

The pirate captain began laughing hysterically at the young boy's attempt at haggling with a lone copper piece. It nearly made Kiara want to laugh along at Aang's ridiculousness. "The price is two hundred gold pieces. I don't haggle on items this rare."

Aang's convincing grin turned into a confident smirk before he impressively held out the remaining copper piece, "Okay, two copper pieces!"

"It's not amusing the second time, boy!" Snarling, the large pirate leaned out the counter with a threatening glare that made Kiara shiver a second time. It was clear that he didn't want to be around the young boy any further.

The young waterbender stepped forward in a quiet uneasy whisper, "Aang, can we get out of here? I feel like we're getting weird looks."

Still acting like an old pirate, Aang leaned forward slightly as he snatched his airbending staff in his hand, "Aye, we be casting off now."

Not wanting to be in the dimly lit ship any longer, Kiara leaned forward and grabbed Aang's sleeve before dragging him out of the pirate ship. As soon as they were off the ship, Kiara heaved out a pleasant sigh as she soaked up the bright sun.

"What was that all about, Katara?" Aang asked curiously as they began walking away from the pirate ship.

"Yeah, I was just starting to browse through their boomerang collection!" Sokka whined as he walked beside Kiara, who was staring at Katara oddly. The young waterbender shrugged at their questions before hugging herself nervously, something that Kiara knew a lot of. The action was another thing she constantly did when she was nervous or anxious for something.

"Uh, Katara, what did you do?" Kiara asked her slightly suspicious at the nervous girl, who was normally confident and happy.

Shaking her head slightly, Katara glanced behind the group quickly, "Nothing, I'll just feel better once we get away from here."

"Okay then." Kiara replied slowly, clearly not believing the younger girl. The group continued to walk further down the street in silence.

"Hey, you!" Kiara and the rest of the group turned around curiously at the shout. Only to find the advertising pirate from earlier running on the ship, "Get back here!"

Fright filled Kiara as more pirate came running out of the pirate ship, making her defensively take a step back. Suspiciousness filled her as she saw Katara had also taken a step behind them with a horrified expression on her face. From in front of the group, Aang smirked as he turned around, "Well, well, look who's come to their senses. Told you the haggling would pay off."

Several pirates stood in front of them with weapons in their hands in offensive positions, ready to attack at any moment. Knowing that this wouldn't end up very nice, Kiara messily tied her vest together tightly so it didn't fly wildly behind her if there was any reason she had to run. Katara took another step backwards before crying out, "I don't think these pirates are here to trade with us!"

Quickly spinning on their heels, the group of four frantically ran through the market with the pirate right on their heels. As they turned a corner sharply, Katara froze a puddle behind them, causing one of the many pirates to slip into a large pile of barrels. The pirates at the back thought quickly and jumped over the frozen water on the ground. Taking the lead, Kiara ran at the side of the cabbage cart with the two siblings trailing right behind her. Both Katara and Sokka bumped into the cabbage merchant and knocked a few cabbages over. Aang thought swiftly and jumped through the small space between the top of the cart. He turned around and sent a blast of wind at the cart, sending it flying into the unsuspecting pirates behind them.

"My cabbages!" Kiara laughed loudly, in despite of the situation, as she heard the cabbage merchant shriek loudly, "This place is worse than Omashu!"

Kiara shouted loudly in shock right after they rounded a corner, only to be met with more pirates standing there menacingly with their weapons. Hastily, she spun on her heels to begun to follow the new lead of the group, which happened to be Aang. Adrenaline rushed through Kiara as she panted heavily due to the amount of swift running they were doing. Her eyes widened as she skidded to a sudden stop, nearly running into Katara as she did. They were met with a dead end with the pirates cornering them with sinister smirks on their faces. The advertiser from earlier stepped forward with an expert twirl of his twin blades, "Now, who gets a taste of my blade first?"

"No thanks!" Aang answered coolly as he slammed his staff downwards, causing a powerful burst of air rushing towards the surprised pirates. The air nomad suddenly began running towards the pirate and with a flick of his wrist, his glider opened. "Hold on tight!"

"Aang!" Katara cried as she clung onto one of Aang's legs, "I thought we were supposed to run away from them!"

Ignoring the waterbender, Kiara leapt forward onto the top of Aang's glider. She cringed at the slowness they were gliding at, thanks to the added weight of four people. Eventually, they slowly rose higher in the air. Taking a deep breath, Kiara held on tight with one strong hand before sending bursts of air behind them. The bursts of air were weak; however, it helped slightly in this situation. With a few kicks to pirate's heads, the group soon found themselves flying away to their campsite.

* * *

"I used to look up to pirates, but those guys are terrible." Making a grunt of agreement, Kiara flopped ungratefully on the ground. It had taken the group a while to get back to camp, longer than usual because of the speed they were flying at.

"At least we got our supplies we needed." Kiara murmured as rested her head on her arms while looking at the orange painted skies. All of the running they did earlier exhausted Kiara, which irritated her slightly. Considering how exhausted she felt from the past few days, and now just after she didn't feel exhausted anymore, it comes right back.

"I know. That's why I took.." Katara answered in a mischievous look tone that instantly caught everyone's attention. "This."

"No way!" Aang said in both concern and awe as he launched himself to his feet gracefully. Katara held the stolen waterbending scroll in her hand excitedly, causing the three to gasp loudly at the normally well behaved waterbender.

Grinning, Katara clutched the scroll in her hand, "Isn't it great?"

"No wonder why they were trying to hack us up!" Sokka exclaimed in a disappointed tone, "You stole their waterbending scroll!"

From her sitting spot on the ground, Kiara stood to her feet with a frown etched upon her face as she heard Katara's attempts of being cool, "I prefer to think of it as high risk trading."

"Good one, Katara." Aang laughed merrily at the waterbender's small joke.

Narrowing her eyes at the younger girl, Kiara crossed her arms with a sigh, "Really Katara?"

"Kiara, Sokka, where do you think they got it?" Katara asked rhetorically in a pleading tone, "They stole it from a waterbender!"

"It doesn't matter." Sokka snapped back at his sister seriously, "You put all of our lives in danger just so you can learn some stupid, fancy splashes!"

"Guys! Stop it!" Kiara shouted sternly, gaining all three friends' attention, "As much as I want to agree with Sokka, that you put our lives at stake, Katara. But it's crucial for Aang to learn waterbending. I'm not taking either side, but there's nothing we can do about it now."

Kiara pursed her lips together when Sokka stormed away from the group muttering a 'whatever'. Everyone knew she was right; of course, there was nothing they could do about it now. Aang stepped forward calmly, "Kiara's right. What's done is done. We have it, we may as well learn from it."

Wanting to learn a few moves herself, Kiara walked over to the water's edge with Aang and Katara. It was clear that the other two benders were more advanced than her in waterbending, which was quite irritating on her part. Kiara simply wanted to know how to defend herself and protect Aang. Her attention was brought back to when Katara handed the scroll to Aang so he could hold it upwards for her. Slowly, Katara stiffly brought up water and leaned back slightly with her arms held out awkwardly. Just as she was about to whip it outwards, Katara accidentally whipped herself in the middle of her forehead. Sokka began hysterically laughing as he clutched his stomach and Kiara snickered slightly. Her snickering began a fake cough when Katara threw a glare over her way. Kiara certainly wasn't in the mood to be getting on the waterbender's bad side.

"What's so funny?" The waterbender demanded angrily towards her brother, who was perched upon a rock.

"I'm sorry, but you deserved that." Sokka stated mirthfully then turned to Aang and Kiara, "You two have been duped. She's only interested in teaching herself."

"Aang will get his turn once I figure out the water whip! After that, Kiara will learn too!" Snapping angrily once again, Katara attempted to create the water whip again. However this time, Katara accidentally let the whip go too early and smacked Momo's backside, causing him to screech angrily at her, "Ugh! Why can't I get this stupid move?!"

"You'll get it." Telling the waterbender reassuringly, Aang leaned the scroll on the tree that was in front of him. The air nomad walked closer to the gently flowing river, not noticing the harsh glare Katara is giving him, "You just got to shift your weight through the stances."

Anger sparked through Kiara as she saw the harsh glare that Katara had on her face. Fierce protectiveness flowed through herself over Aang, and Kiara took three calming breaths. Mimicking the moves that indicated on the waterbending scroll, Aang slowly shifted his weight with each stance it shown. Water easily bent to his will and Aang successfully made the water whip.

"There, see?" Aang demonstrated with an easy smile, "The key to bending is—"

"Will you please shut your air hole?!" Katara screamed angrily as she loomed over Aang, "Believe it or not your infinite wisdom gets little old sometimes. Why don't we just throw the scroll away since you're so naturally gifted!"

The anger snapped deep within Kiara as she furious stormed between the two, causing the angry waterbender to back up a step. Kiara's hair whipped around her as she furiously glared down at the younger girl. "Hey! You have absolutely no right to speak to him that way! All Aang is trying to do was help you learn the stupid move!"

"Stay out of this! This has nothing to concern you!" Katara harshly snapped back up to the darker haired girl. She turned her frustration of her waterbending now onto Kiara. That just sparked Kiara's anger higher.

"This concerns me just as it concerns the both of you! I'm doing my job of protecting Aang from people like you. You should be doing your job and teaching Aang!" The older girl was trying to get her point across; however, Katara was simply not understanding that she shouldn't take her frustration out on others.

"Like you would know anything about jobs! You have to be the worst Apprentice ever! You can't even bend for Spirit's sake! All you are is useless in this group!" Katara's chest have been heaving up and down from her constant shouting.

Kiara tried not to let it show how much that statement hurt her. A sneer came up on Kiara's face as her glare intensified greatly. The atmosphere thickened at Kiara's rage and hurt. "That may be true, but all I'm concerned about is Aang. He should be learning the elements, not getting yelled at for doing something right and _helping_ you!"

The anger in Katara's eyes disappeared as she stared at the air nomad over Kiara's shoulder. Aang's tear rimmed eyes had widened at the sight of his two friends fighting in front of him. Not only had he been yelled at for doing something correct, but the one yelling at him was the girl he admired deeply. Katara walked around the shaking girl and placed her hands gently on Aang's shoulders, "Oh my gosh, Aang. I am so sorry, I don't know what came over me. But you know what, it won't happen again."

"It's okay, Katara. But I'm not the only one who need an apology." Aang forgave her calmly, yet still slightly hurt. Katara's eyes widened considerably as she spun around her heel to face Kiara, the girl who simply protected Aang. When Katara turned around, Kiara wasn't there.

* * *

Running quickly into the darkening woods, Sokka frantically glanced throughout the forest as he ran. He ran at a slight incline, due to the mountainous terrain, making him pant harder than usual. His mind was only concentrated on one thing: Kiara. As soon as she had successfully averted Katara's attention onto Aang, the reason that the arguing began, Kiara instantly raced into the forest without sparing a glance behind her. Sokka attempted to grab the other two benders' attention, however, they were too stunned at the fact that she was gone. Without a second thought, Sokka raced after the already gone girl after a disappointed glance towards his sister. Worry crossed his heart as he thought about Kiara. Sokka was worried on whether or not Kiara had managed to hurt herself somehow. He was worried about his sister's words hurting her more than they could even imagine. At those worrying thoughts, Sokka searched more determinedly than before.

As Sokka had gotten deeper into the woods he squinted his eyes as he saw, under a high pine tree that had many branches sprawling out, a hunched girl. The large branches that had many needles growing on each branch made dark shadows underneath that the hunched girl took advantage of. As the sun set further below the horizon, shadows crept in to take it's place as the moon begun to rise. Despite the dark shadows, the dark locks of hair sprawled across her back and shoulders. The dark locks were tousled more so than usual. Her hair effectively covered her face from any curious onlookers. She had her knees pulled against her chest tightly as she leaned against the tree to appear less visible. Her elbows were tucked snugly into her chest that made her appear more like a ball.

"Kiara?" Sokka asked quietly, afraid she would leave once more at the sight of him. The hunched girl jolted from her spot on the ground and her head snapped in the direction of where he stood cautiously. It shocked him at the glossy bright eyes that stared back at him, that looked equally shocked to see him. It shocked him because he was normally used to those eyes glaring at him majority of each day that passed. It shocked him of the amount of hurt that laid underneath those turquoise eyes. It shocked Sokka that the normally strong and sarcastic girl who walked around confidently looked beat up and broken. Her dark ebony hair curtained around her with a stray lock of hair that fell between her widened eyes.

As soon as she realized who stood there, Kiara instantly looked in the opposing way as she attempted to wipe her glossy eyes in secret. "What do you want?"

His eyes softened at the sight of her wiping her eyes at the back of her hand when she thought he couldn't see. Sokka slowly took a few steps towards her and watched as she shifted her body away from him. Cautiously, Sokka bent his knees and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Are you alright?"

"Just peachy." Kiara instantly replied as she wrapped her arms around her knees tightly. "Just staring at the stars."

Sokka frowned at the obvious lie as he observed her better. At the angle he was at, he could see her flushed cheeks from previous crying. Her paused breaths came out short and quick in attempts of slowing. Leaning forwards slightly to view her face better, Sokka thought he would slowly and cautiously ask her how she was. "So, you're crying at how beautiful the stars are?"

"Yep. No, I mean, I'm not crying." She quickly corrected herself with the back of her hand quickly rubbing her eyes. Her head tilted upwards as she appeared to be gazing up at the bright stars that begun shining for the first time this night. It reality, she used it to cover for her as she aired out her damp eyes. Silence overtook both teens as they sat down in the middle of the forest staring at the multiple stars that lit up the night sky. It grew awkward for Sokka because he didn't know how to comfort girls. Normally his sister was the comforting one so he didn't have to be in that awkward situation as he was in now. If it were his sister that needed comforting, he would give her space that she needed before she calmed down and the two would never speak of it again. Sokka never had to deal with his sister running out into the wilderness after a fight.

Sokka decided to be blunt and see where it takes him afterwards, "You know, Katara didn't mean what she said."

He was startled at Kiara snapping her head towards him with furious eyes. It was a quick change from being saddened to distant to furious. "Yes, she did. Everything she said was true."

"No, it wasn't true." He protested further, not understanding why Kiara was taking this as seriously as she was.

"Yes, it is. Katara said the blunt truth that no one voiced out loud. I'm the most shittest Apprentice in history that doesn't even know how to bend or fight! Now tell me what I said isn't true!" She snapped harshly with furrowed eyebrows. Sokka wasn't used to her sudden mood changes. However, he did catch the hurt underneath her eyes. It made Kiara realize the truth behind her words, making her bite her lip to prevent further crying as it trembled. She sniffled as her eyes had gotten more glossier than earlier.

"We're all learning how to fight or, in your case, bend. So you're not alone." Sokka trailed off, not knowing how to comfort the mood changing girl. "-Katara's just learning how to splash water as you and Aang are, just in a more rude way, I guess-"

"Why are you defending her?" Kiara interrupted angrily as she shifted more away from the uncomfortable teenager.

Sokka rose an eyebrow at the interruption before continuing, "I'm not, but what I'm trying to say is that as soon as you made her realize what she did, she immediately apologized to Aang. Katara went to apologize to you as well, but you were gone."

"That doesn't change the truth." Kiara mumbled as she rested her chin onto her propped up knees.

"What?" He asked confusedly.

Kiara looked at the teenager square in the eyes with a frown at her words, "It doesn't change the truth of me being utterly useless. I guess I always knew that I'm useless, I just brushed it off because I thought it was alright. Katara simply brought out the truth that I'm useless. Always have been, and always will be."

A frown crept it's way onto Sokka's face as he realized that the small fight earlier had a different meaning to it. Kiara averted her eyes to the ground and brought her fingers to rake through her hair. Silence overtook them, making both teens dulge into their own thoughts. Faint noises of the animals that are active at night was heard along with their breathing. Sokka's mind raced with several different thoughts. He had always thought that Kiara had no qualms or problems because she always was confident and carefree. Apparently you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. He was startled at the sound of Kiara's quietened voice, "Well, like my father used to say, you shouldn't complain if you're not going to do anything. We may as well go back, I suppose."

"Are you alright? With leaving your family?" Sokka asked as he noticed the softness she had when she spoke about her father.

Kiara froze in the middle of standing to her feet. Her hand gripped the bark of the pine tree that she used for support and her eyes widened a fracture at the mention of her family. "Just peachy."

Noticing that she didn't want to speak any further about that topic, Sokka followed her example and stood to his feet. His eyebrows furrowed together as he noticed Kiara looking in every direction as if she was directionless. "What's the matter?"

Her lips pursed together as she averted her eyes from him stubbornly, "I, um, don't know where to go."

He couldn't help but realize that any traces of her being saddened disappeared. Sokka supposed that, like himself, doesn't want to remember any depressing thoughts and focusses on brighter things. Kiara acted as if nothing happened in the previous hour. After a teasing comment of her being directionless, Sokka begun to lead the way towards the direction he came from. The two teenagers had light conversations away from anything depressing or anything about the war. He figured it was her odd way of being comforted, of being distracted of the reason of her sadness. Sokka didn't have any problems with that, of course, because he didn't have to being mushy by comforting her. Instead of letting all of those mushy feeling vocalized, Kiara simply avoided any topic relating to her and focussed on everything else, such as how large Sokka's ears were.

"Kay, c'mon, you have to admit that you're ears are pretty huge." Kiara commented with a smirk on her slightly tanned face. She heard the faint noises of the waterfall beginning to get clearer, informing her that they were nearly there.

"My ears are not huge!" Sokka defended as he covered his ears from Kiara's view with a pout. As they walked closer towards the running water, Sokka saw the flickering of the campfire that was most likely made by either Katara or Aang.

Snorting unladylike, Kiara pried his hands off and yanked on his ears, "Uh, c'mon now. You ears are bigger than Aang's!"

"My ears are big?" Both teenagers exchanged an amused glance at the airbender's offended words before laughing out loud as they entered their camp. A wide grin crept up Kiara's face as she laughed even harder at the young boy's confused expression on his face. He sat on the other side of the campfire than Katara with the small lemur on his lap. "I didn't think my ears were big."

That small comment made Kiara laugh harder as she kneeled over with her hands clutching her stomach. It felt good to laugh after several exhausting hours of running, practicing, fighting and crying. Tears brimmed her eyes as she laughed even harder at his bewildered expression on his face as he stared at her. From her left, Kiara heard Sokka laugh even harder at her loud laugh. Opening her eyes, Kiara saw a grin split across the young air nomad's face as he watched the two teenager's laughing. "Woo, that was a good laugh."

Her laughter died down when she looked between the two bender's and noticed the slightly tense atmosphere. Both wore worried and hurt expressions on their faces despite the smiles on their faces. Awkwardly doing a slight wave at the two after realizing that they were worried about her, Kiara stared into the flickering orange flames of the fire. She yelped at a sudden impact hitting her torso and was met with a headful of hair. Kiara felt two slender arms around her back tightly when she realized that she was being hugged. "K-Katara?"

Katara pulled back from the tight embrace and placed her hands on the older girl's shoulder firmly. Her bright blue eyes were filled with shame and guilt that shocked Kiara. "Oh, Kiara, I am so sorry! I-I didn't mean to yell those awful things at you. I swear I didn't mean it! I was just- I was frustrated at myself and took it out on you and Aang. I am so sorry about that! I understand if you don't want to forgive me! I just-"

"Katara!" The dark haired girl shouted loudly to gain the rambling waterbender's attention. Her rambling was hurting her ears and simply wanted quiet talking. Kiara averted her eyes from the waterbender's intense gaze as she stared at her pleadingly. "I understand what you mean, and it's true. I can't bend or fight; I'm useless. But I'm going to try to learn how to fight, don't worry about that. I forgive you."

"Oh, Kiara! I'm sorry! You aren't useless at all! I was just frustrated and-" Kiara put a hand up to stop her rambling once again. A fake smile grew on her face to reassure the waterbender.

"No, it's fine. I understand. But I'm tired so I'm going to sleep." Kiara lied as she place a fake smile on her face as she walked over to her already made bed in front of the massive flying bison. On her way, she met Aang's worried eyes and gave him a smile to reassure him as well. Untying her vest and folding the short vest neatly, Kiara slipped off her shoes before slipping into her sleeping bag. "Good night."

Knowing that it would be the most effective way to prevent a conversation, Kiara turned her back away from their piercing gazes. Her teeth bit down onto her lip when she prayed that they would grab the hint and leave her alone. A relieved sigh left her lips as she heard the trio leave her alone and mutter their own goodnights.

* * *

_"Look mum! Lookit!" I exclaimed excitedly as I bounced on the balls of my feet._

_An older woman turned around from her spot at the kitchen counter. She held a cloth in her hands that she used to clean the dishes with. A smile crept it's way up her face making slight wrinkles appear. Her smile made her bright eyes lit up brightly; the smile that I always adored. I shared her bright blue eyes that made my father envious, because he had dull hazel eyes. They always told me that I shared both of their eyes, making it a bright turquoise color. "What is it, love?"_

_"Look what I could do!" I replied excitedly as I took an over exaggerated breath that made my chest rise high. I felt my eyebrows pull together in concentration as I shot my palms out towards her. Nothing happened. A frown made it's way onto my face as I puffed out my chubby cheeks in a pout. "I can do it! Really! I'm really good at it too!"_

_"I believe you. Would you like to try again?" Mum asked sweetly as she bent down to my short level. My head bobbed up and down enthusiastically._

_"Okay!" My chest rose high once again as I took a deep breath. My hands shot outwards with flat palm in her direction. This time a blast of air shot in her face, making her dark locks of her fly in every direction. She made a high pitched yelp at the unexpecting burst of air shooting in her face. A gasp left my lips as I placed my hands over my mouth. Mum's going to be angry at me for blasting it in her face!_

_"That was great, Kiara! You are really good at that!" Mum praised me with a grin on her face as fixed her wind blown hair nicely around her shoulders._

_"You're not mad at me for blasting it in your face?" I asked confusedly as I cocked my head to my shoulder with my eyebrows furrowed together. A laugh escaped her lips that sounded like chimes as her bright eyes lit up once again._

_"Babygirl, why would I be mad at you for doing something really cool? I was merely shocked at the suddenness. What you can do is something so special that no one can do anymore, so you have to hide it from everyone." Mum answered as she pulled me into her warm arms._

_My wide eyes stared at her questioningly as my hair fell wildly around my shoulders, "But why do I have to hide it?"_

_"People may think that it's so special that they would want it all for themselves, so they might take you away from me. We wouldn't want that, now would we?" Mum asked in a light tone as her bright blue eyes stared down at me. I always thought that her eyes reminded me of the ocean that I always saw in pictures. Mum always had lots of books with pictures of water, and she let me read them all the time._

_My eyes widened at the fact of people taking me away, "No, no, no. I don't want to be taken away!"_

_"No, I wouldn't let people take away my babygirl." A grin made it's way onto my face at her loving words. I snuggled into her embrace and wrapped my small arms around her tightly._

_"Love you, mummy."_

_"I love you too."_

Staring up at the bright stars that stood beautifully against the dark sky, Kiara sighed longingly at the dream she had. Kiara wondered if anyone back home missed her. Was anyone searched for her since she had ran away, or rather, stormed away. She longed to be young again, when she didn't have to worry about the raging war in the outside world or worry about being the Apprentice. Those times were simple and loving. The times when she didn't have her mother and father suiting her up for an arranged marriage with an idiotic man. The times when she didn't worry about Sozin's comet in the upcoming summer.

Kiara snuggled deeper into her warm sleeping bag and willed herself to sleep further. After several long minutes of tossing and turning of attempting to fall back asleep, Kiara sat up with a huff. She had unnecessary energy at the most inconvenient times, and this is one of those times. She stared into their dying flames of the campfire silently. Her eyes wandered to her travelling companions that were still sound asleep. Aang was curled into a ball on flattened hay with a peaceful expression on his face, making him appear more young and innocent. Both of the water tribe siblings were snuggled deep into their fur lined sleeping bags with peaceful expressions on their faces as they slept. Kiara envied at the fact that they were able to sleep. Her mind reeled back to the events of the previous day. She desperately wanted to learn how to become a good waterbender, however she couldn't with Katara's competitiveness and Aang's superb skills. It felt as though they were showing her up with their skills. Like herself, Aang was simply relearning waterbending, but unlike her, he was good at it. At the thought of waterbending, Kiara's eyes wandered to the waterbending scroll that stuck out from Katara's bag. Should she go to the river and practice waterbending by herself? That thought seemed very tempting considering the amount of energy she had right now.

Trying not to make a single noise, Kiara slowly got out of her sleeping bag and carefully walked over to where Katara was sleeping. Slipping the scroll out of the bag with some difficulty, Kiara bit back a grin before heading in the direction of the waterfall that constantly made noises. There, no one would wake up with the noises of her waterbending. Excitement built within her at the thought of her waterbending. When she reached the river, Kiara walked up to the tree stump that they used earlier and placed the scroll onto it.

"First, I'll do the moves Katara showed us." Kiara murmured decisively to herself as she stood barefooted in front of the running water. Having memorized Katara's movements earlier, Kiara exhaled readily as she took a stance in front of the running water. Push and pull the water. Placing her hands outwards, Kiara felt a faint energy from the water that she took as a good sign. Leaning forwards, Kiara bent her wrist upwards before leaning backwards of her back foot and pretended as though she was pulling an invisible force. Kiara continued doing this before she saw the water slowly coming to her command. Excitement build within her at the sight of the water coming to her aid. Several minutes passed of her pushing and pulling the water. Getting tired of doing the same movements, Kiara decided to do the next move Katara taught them. Streaming the water. Remembering that Aang had easily been able to stream the water and perform tricks, it made Kiara more determined.

Leaning forwards, Kiara stuck out her tongue in concentration as she held her hands outwards to feel the energy of the water. Slowly, she let her hands hang loose and pretended as if she was pulling something upwards. Kiara grunted in frustration when she couldn't get in within the first ten tries. She took a deep breath to calm herself, Kiara bent her knees before straightening them out as if she pulled something upwards. Her breath caught in her throat when she felt the familiar pull of the water coming to her aid. Slowly she concentrated on bringing the water towards her by pulling her arms towards herself. Kiara stared in awe as the water came together in a ball formation between her hands. Pulling her hands apart wider, Kiara focussed on making the water into a stream. She had a mental image in her head of what it was supposed to look like. It definitely took her longer to master the move than Aang or Katara had, but she was slowly getting the hang of it. Waterbending was definitely harder than it was to airbend for her. It was most likely because the previous Apprentice learnt firebending and airbending, not waterbending.

"Okay come on now." Kiara muttered to herself as she struggled to create the giant wave that Katara had demonstrated earlier. It seemed that the water now didn't want to come to her aid. Her hands trembled at the weight of the ass of the water that rippled slightly in the river. Kiara took a step forward to help bring the water up, however, her bare foot stubbed itself on a rock making Kiara tumble into the water.

"You have to be kidding me right now?" Kiara shouted angrily to herself as she pulled herself out of the water for the second time in hours. Her hair and clothes were dripping wet making her feel uncomfortable. She pushed back her hair so it was out of her vision once more. A cool breeze blew by making her shiver in her wetness. An image of Aang airbending all of the water off of him popped into her mind. Kiara grinned at the thought before wondering if she could do it herself. Placing both of her fists together, Kiara inhaled deeply and her eyes closed. Two incredibly warm hands circled around her wrists making her gasp at the unexpecting touch. Her turquoise eyes snapped upwards to find two cold eyes staring down at her. Kiara found Zuko sneering down at her shocked face.

"Looks like I found the Apprentice." Zuko stated with the sneer still permanently on his face.

Kiara scoffed after overcoming her shock, trying to appear strong and confident, "You need a new line. You say that way too often."

* * *

After struggling in Zuko's firm grip on her wrists, Kiara eventually irritated him enough to have him throw her over his shoulder as he lead the two towards his ship. Kiara pounded against his metal armour with her fists on his back and kicked around. However, Zuko was not fazed by her thrashing around on his shoulder which was very uncomfortable for her. When they reached their destination, Zuko had his soldiers tie her around a single tree. Pursing her lips together stubbornly as she glared at each person in the area threateningly. Kiara couldn't help but think that she was now the damsel in distress that was waiting to be rescued. Pirates flanked the right side of the beach while Zuko and his men flanked the left area. Kiara felt slightly claustrophobic.

"Tell me where he is and I won't hurt you or your friends." Zuko persuaded from his spot standing in front of the captured Kiara.

"Mm, I highly doubt that." Kiara stated as she attempted to fling her hair around her shoulder with no avail. Her dampened hair was irritating her to no end. She stared at him square in the eyes, or rather, his good eye. Zuko's damaged left eye slightly frightened her. Kiara wasn't stupid whatsoever. She knew what the teenager's motives were and he could lie all he wanted, yet it would end up in the same result. Zuko wanted to bring both her and Aang back to the Fire Nation to his father, for a reason that Kiara didn't know. No matter how many times Zuko could tell her that he won't hurt her, he would still capture her. "I'm not telling na-da."

"Perhaps think will persuade you into telling me." Zuko replied calmly as he held out a blue necklace that made Kiara squint in the darkness to make out what it was. Her eyebrows shot upwards as Kiara realized that the teenager held a familiar blue necklace between his fingers. Being skilled in observing others' motives and actions silently, Kiara knew that this what Zuko wanted. To have her bargain with him over the necklace for Aang. He knew that it was Katara's most prized possession.

Kiara rose an eyebrow at the nearly bald teenager, appearing confident and casual, "I don't give a damn about that, it isn't my necklace. If you wanted to bargain for it, you should have captured Katara instead."

"Enough of this necklace garbage! You promised the scroll!" The pirate captain stepped forward with a raspy forward.

"I wonder how much this costs," Zuko trailed off as a smirk made it's way up Zuko's face as he smoothly took out the scroll from his sash and held it up his other hand. A sudden flame lit up his hand as he held the flame underneath the scroll. Series of deep gasps erupted out of the pirates as they froze in fear of the scroll getting burned. The smirk of Zuko's face grew larger at the reactions. "-A lot, apparently. Now you help me get what I want, you'll get this back and everyone goes home happy. Search the woods for the boy and meet me back here."

Glaring harshly at Zuko's turned head, Kiara pursed her lips in worry for her friend's safety. If only she was close even to the river the she could possibly bend the water with her hands behind her back. Now that would be something to brag about. Kiara let out a yawn at the short amount of sleep she had gotten because of the dream she had last night. Now that she wasn't being active anymore, she felt exhaustion filling herself. However she knew better than to sleep now, now that she was captured. Slowly, Kiara slid down the tree trunk so she sat comfortably against the ground. She paid no mind that the bark of the tree scratched painfully on her back. A sigh left her lips at the thought of her being utterly useless once again.

As the pirates ran off under the captain's orders, Kiara boringly watch the Fire Nation Prince pace back and forth thoughtfully. Her eyes drifted off towards her left further to find an aged man watching the teenager as well. Kiara's eyebrow rose interestedly as she realized who that man was. It was the retired general of the Fire Nation that broke into the greatest earthbending city in the world. However, he quickly drew back as soon as he found out that his son died in the war. Despite him being the supposedly 'bad guy', Kiara couldn't help but sympathize the elderly man. It was then she knew that not all Fire Nation were heartless. This old man standing in front of her clearly had a heart because he withdrew because he was in deep mourning of his deceased son. His bright amber eyes drifted downwards to meet her turquoise eyes, making Kiara give an awkward smile and avert her eyes quickly. It irked her when people caught her staring openly at them. Kiara cringed when she saw General Iroh walk towards her with a knowing smile on his aged face, making wrinkles appear.

"Uh, hi." Kiara greeted lamely as she met one of the greatest firebenders in the world. An uncomfortable feeling filled her as he stood beside her.

"Hello, my nephew here tells me that you're the Avatar's Apprentice, is this true?" His voice was light and deep, making Kiara curious why the man wasn't glaring down at her.

Awkwardly meeting his gaze, Kiara thought it would be best not to anger him. "Yep. I bet he kept calling me 'The Apprentice' or 'The girl', didn't he?"

The retired general let out a deep chuckle, that surprised Kiara. "Yes, that is true. I'm the retired General Iroh."

"I know." Kiara blurted out, making her face heat up embarrassingly, "Sorry."

"That's quite alright." Iroh replied with a slight smile. Kiara wondered why he wasn't angry at her blunt rudeness.

"Oh! I'm Kiara. Tell that to Prince Pouty over there so he could stop calling me by my title, which is quite irritating." Kiara told the elderly man as she threw a glare towards the pacing teenager who glared back at the comment.

"It's an honor meeting you, Apprentice Kiara." Kiara's mouth gaped at the firebender's graciousness and kindness. No one had even told her that they were honored to meet her, which shocked Kiara greatly. Any other firebender would glare at her and most likely spit in her direction.

An awkward smile made its way back up her face and she laughed awkwardly, "It's not that great meeting me, I'm just Kiara."

"Uncle! Stop talking to the prisoner!" Zuko's demanded voice rang out as he stomped over to the single tree where Kiara leaned against.

"The prisoner has a name, ya know!" Kiara snapped back irritated as she kicked at his feet. It made him jump back to avoid the attacks and glare coldly down at the attacking girl. It ended up in Zuko tying her ankles together to prevent any further kicks at him. Kiara's lips pursed together as she glared hard at the teenager's turned back. Her glaring was interrupted at the sound of grunting and feet pounding down on the ground. Kiara curiously gazed to right to find the largely built pirates standing there with slight pants. Her eyes widened when she saw her captured friends. All three of them wore angry frowns as they glared at Zuko. Kiara grinned casually as she regarded her close companions, "Fancy seeing you guys here."

"Kiara!" Aang cried out in relief as a large grin split across his face. His grey eyes were wide in relief while he stared at the restrained girl. Kiara returned the relieved grin at the sight of him being unharmed.

Zuko stepped forward with a sneer on his face, it seemed that he was still irritated with Kiara for kicking him in the shin. "Give me the boy."

"You give us the scroll." The captain demanded with a snarl, all traces of their working together are gone. All was left were snarling men waiting to see who would strike first. Kiara glanced between each snarling man as she thought of many different ways to defuse the tense atmosphere.

Snorting loudly, Kiara put on a confident smirk as every person in the area turned to her curiously. "You're really going to hand over the Avatar for a stupid scroll?"

Zuko blasted a burst of fire in her directions to scare her into shutting her mouth. He outstretched his hand firmly as if to silence her. "Don't listen to her! She's trying to turn us against each other!"

"Your friend is the Avatar?" The captain questioned in a surprised tone as he stared down at the gaping airbender.

"Sure is!" Sokka supplied before sending a secretive wink in Kiara's direction, making her smirk grow larger. "And I'll bet that he'll fetch a lot more on the black market than a fancy scroll."

"Shut your mouth, you water tribe peasant!" Zuko roared furiously at he pointed his finger threateningly in Sokka's direction.

"I'm just saying," Sokka shrugged innocently with a sly smile on his face, "It's bad business! Just imagine how much the Fire Lord would pay for the Avatar. You guys would be set for life!"

After considering Sokka's suggestion for a moment, the pirate captain smirked smugly at Zuko. "Keep the scroll. We could buy hundred for the award we get with the kid."

Glancing quickly between the two parties, it irked Kiara at how easily they ignored her. Having people ignore her was one of her biggest pet peeves. "Hey! What about me? Don't forget about me over here!"

Again, she was ignored easily despite her shouts. Zuko snarled furiously at the pirate captain before immediately blasting fireballs in their direction. All of the men and the group thought quickly before jumping back to avoid getting burns. The pirate that was advertizing from the previous day skillfully leapt over the blast of fire and whipped smoke bombs at Zuko and his men. Smoke screened the area and Kiara could no longer see anyone. Grunts and shouts echoed from the smoke which made Kiara uneasy because she didn't know who was winning. Taking this distraction to her advantage, Kiara immediately struggled against the ropes. "Come on, work with me."

A familiar high pitched chatter made Kiara snap her head upwards to find the flying lemur crawl down the tree using his claws for support. Relief flowed through Kiara as she felt Momo crawl behind her and chomped down on the ropes. His small teeth chewed hurriedly through the ropes and Kiara felt her wrist become free. Her hands shot down to where her ankles where they quickly undid the ropes. Standing to her feet, Kiara bent down and kissed the small leur's forehead. "Thanks, Momo! Remind me later to reward you!"

Squinting her bright eyes against the heavy smoke, Kiara felt directionless as she stared at the grey smoke. Several times she heard bits of her friend's conversation but was soon overwhelmed by the fighting going within the smoke. Biting her lip at the indecisive thoughts swarming her head, Kiara shook her head before running around the smoke. She dared not to go into the smoke because she would most likely get hurt or captured again. Occasionally, there would be a weapon poking through the smoke, making her jump at the closeness. Hearing the pirate getting too close for her comfort, Kiara raced away quickly to the other side of the smoke. She frantically glanced over her shoulder when she heard a loud shout, only to find Aang jumping out of the smoke using his airbending. Her foot had gotten caught on something, making her tumble onto the ground and onto whatever had tripped her.

"Nice of you to drop in." Sokka grumbled from underneath Kiara, making her snort despite of the situation at hand. With her cheek pressed against Sokka's shoulder blade, Kiara burst out laughing.

"Run!" Aang shouted over his shoulder as he raced away from the men that wanted to capture him. Kiara's laughing stopped short before she glanced over her shoulder quickly and hopping off of the disgruntled warrior. Hurriedly, Kiara grasped Sokka's hand and heaved him to his feet. It ended up in her nearly toppling over due to Sokka's weight, however, he yanked on her arm and begun running towards Aang. They met up with the airbender who was beside Katara who attempted to push the pirate ship into the water with no avail.

"Guys! You're okay! Help us push this boat back into the water so we can get away!" Katara ordered hurriedly, making Kiara raise an eyebrow as she watched the three push the boat uselessly. It was obvious that the boat weight greatly; and they are attempting to push it?

"That's not going to work." Kiara called out with a roll of her eyes, making the trio sigh in defeat and step backwards.

Sokka slumped his shoulders as he stared up at the large wooden ship in dismay, "We need a team of rhinos to budge this ship."

"A team of rhinos, or three waterbenders." Aang suggested brightly, eyeing his two waterbending companions. The suggestion made Kiara jump at the tone he used. Her head slowly turned to him with an eyebrow raised in disbelief. Kiara eyed his strangely at his suggestion.

"Are you kidding me?" Kiara asked incredulously, "You two are the good ones, you guys do it. I'm useless at this, remember?"

Katara turned her attention onto the older girl with her eyebrows pulled together in confusion at her statement, "What are you talking about? You're good at waterbending!"

"No, I'm not." Kiara replied firmly as she stared at the waterbender evenly. The waterbender still irritated her from the previous night, and preferred not to speak with her for a while. "We'll talk about this later, now hurry and waterbend!"

It was clear that the two benders wanted to protest with her further because of the hesitation they showed. Both of them knew that it would be best for them to do what they were told because they were still in danger. The older teenagers, Kiara and Sokka, both were on the lookout for oncoming enemies. Kiara stared out into the smoke screen, she frowned at the reminder of her being useless once again. All she had wanted to do the previous night was to catch up on waterbending practice so that she wasn't terrible at it, all it had done was ended up in getting their group in danger. She knew that they would want to scold her later on when they were safe for getting them in danger. Hopefully, she could put off on the scolding as long as possible.

"Everyone in!" Katara's voice rang out, catching Kiara's attention. The waves crashed up on shore and it had gotten Kiara's shoes soaked once more as she ran out towards the rope ladder. All four scrambled on board, not caring at how wet they were getting at the moment. Sokka immediately raced towards the steering wheel of the ship while both Aang and Katara kept watch. Standing in the middle of the deck, Kiara glanced in every direction while they sailed down the river. Anxiousness built in her stomach as she felt something that wasn't right. Looking over her shoulder, Kiara gaped at the nearing metal shi that was trailing right after them. The metal ship was significantly smaller than the pirate ship, however it still had an intimidating appearance to it.

Kiara squinted against the light reflecting off the water to observe the metal ship further. Her turquoise eyes widened at the sight of the pirates swarming the ship with determined smirks on their faces. "Uh, guys? They're right behind us!"

"Sokka, can't you make this thing go any faster?" Aang frantically asked after he realized what she called out were true. Swiftly, Kiara climbed the ladder to the upper deck where Sokka stood at the wheel. It was hard for her walk on deck, nevertheless run on it. The idea of being on a ship was completely foreign to Kiara since she lived near the farm lands her entire lives. One could say that she hasn't gotten her 'sea legs' yet.

"I don't know how! This thing wasn't made by the Water Tribe!" Sokka hurriedly answered in a panicking tone.

Noticing that the teenager had a clueless look on his face as he stared down at the wooden wheel, Kiara went to stand next to him. Biting her lip at the foreign wheel, Kiara glanced around the area in hopes of finding something that would make them go faster. A frightened gasp left her lips as she saw the pirates climbing onto the ship. Kiara stepped backwards in defense while she frantically tapped on Sokka's shoulder, "Sokka!"

"What?" He asked as he turned to face her, only to find her pointing hurriedly at the oncoming pirates.

With her teeth biting down on her lip still, Kiara quickly thought of a way to protect them both. It was clear that she excels further in airbending than waterbending, most likely because she was an airbender in her previous life. On that thought, Kiara inhaled deeply before thrusting her arms out at the pirates as she exhaled. Her blast of air was successful, making her hum in approval at her work. Thick arms wrapped around her waist, trapping her arms to her side. A frightened yelp left her lips as she felt the unfamiliar arms around her. Kiara instantly began thrashing in the pirate's grip on her. In front of her, Sokka was in the same position as her.

"Guys! Shut up and help us out!" Kiara cried angrily at the cheering benders on the lower deck. It irritated her how they were having a blast down there while her and Sokka were captured. Captured, once again within a half an hour.

She grunted loudly in pain as the pirate slammed her into the railing of the upper deck. Without a second thought, the pirate twisted around slightly before tossing her over the railing. A loud scream erupted out of Kiara as she flew down to the lower deck. Her body smashed against the thick wooden boards making pain soar through within her. It felt as though her stomach wanted out of her when the queasy feeling filled inside her. When she landed on the deck, it had knocked the wind out of her. Panic flowed through her as she struggled for air in her lungs. Kiara begun having a coughing fit that allowed air circulating in her lungs. When the coughing fit died, she laid there on the damp deck to recover from the hard impact. Her eyebrows scrunched together as her torso throbbed. Blood pounded in her ears as she tried to regain full consciousness. Large hands gently scooped under her; helping her stand to her feet.

Looking up slowly through the throbbing pain, Kiara was met with familiar blue eyes. Sokka grinned slightly down at her before looking back up seriously. As she stood to her feet with his help, Kiara leaned against him for support when her chest ached from the movement. "Ow, yeah no. Standing makes it worse."

Moving his arm around her waist more firmly, Sokka smirked down at her, "You know, it always ends up like this: You getting hurt and I coming to save you."

"Oh, shut up." Kiara grumbled irritably and averted her eyes away from his amused gaze. She could feel his amusement radiating off of him, which irritated her further. Kiara's gaze drifted over his shoulder to where the metal ship was still oncoming. Nervously, she glanced over to where Aang and Katara was bending the water underneath the ship. Nervousness settled in her stomach at the thought of them on the edge of a waterfall and the ship behind them. The wooden ship gave a sudden lurch forward and the sound of snapping wood filled the air. Kiara yelped at the loss of balance when the ship began tipping over. Her heart pounded harshly against her chest in fear. Both teens skidded forwards near Aang and Katara. Clutching onto Sokka for dear life, Kiara's eyes widened at the large height difference below them.

"Jump!" Aang shouted loudly while clutching onto Kiara's wrist tightly. Kiara felt herself being yanked forward and fearfully closed her eyes. Her heart froze as she felt herself falling rapidly. Her mind raced with several different thoughts, making it one jumbled mess. This was not the way she had thought she was going to die. Kiara thought that she would die happily with a husband and children. She would had have grey hair with a wrinkled face when she would die.

"We're going to die!" Kiara blurted out fearfully as wind rushed in her ears. The wind pounded harshly against their bodies, effectively hurting Kiara further. She clenched her teeth together and tried to not take deep breaths to not move her chest further. A loud groan echoed throughout the valley and Kiara felt Sokka's grip on her tighten as they moved through the air. For the second time that day, Kiara felt herself hit something hard on her chest yet again. A long groan of pain escaped her lips that broke the silence. She kept her eyes squeezed shut in recovery from the shock and still pain. "We're dead.. aren't we?"

"Nope! Appa saved us!" Aang answered brightly, "I knew this bison whistle would come in handy! Thanks Appa."

"W-we're alive?" Kiara asked suddenly in disbelief as she shot up from her laying spot on the saddle, her chest ached but she ignored it. Her eyes glanced around her surroundings to find them flying high in the sky. The sun had begun to set on their left, leaving the land covered in golden light. "Oh my spirits. We're alive! Oh, Appa, thank you!"

"Yeah, we owe you one." Sokka added as he watched the grinning girl pet the massive bison below them. Appa groaned in pleasure and appreciation at the show of affection. When Kiara begun to lean back to her spot on the saddle, a sharp pain shot through her chest that made her stop her movements. She sucked in a sharp breath as she clutched her aching chest.

"Mm, yeah, let's not move anymore." Kiara stated as she slowly relaxed her sore and tense muscles. She leaned against the supplies next to Sokka with a relieved sigh at the relaxation. Her legs were crossed over each other and her arms were folded behind her head.

"Are you alright?" Aang asked with wide concerned eyes from the front of the saddle. He sat with his legs crossed and a straight posture, something Kiara envied. He always seemed to have perfect posture all of the time. Perhaps it came with being raised by the monks.

Raising her hand in the air, she waved it dismissively, "Yeah, yeah, just sore when that pirate threw me. No worries."

"Aang," The soft and shameful voice of Katara suddenly spoke up. She had her legs crossed underneath her and her head was faced down in shame. "I still owe you an apology. You were just so good at waterbending without really trying that I got competitive and put us all in danger. I'm sorry."

"That's okay." It was quite obvious that the air nomad would immediately forgive Katara. He only forgave her because of the obvious crush he has on her. A sweet smile grew on his face as he stared at Katara, who had a relieved smile on her face. The relieved smile then turned into a frown as she turned to the relaxing Kiara.

"Kiara, I know I already apologized, but I want you to know that I was frustrated at myself last night. I took all of my frustration out on you, only because you stood up for Aang. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean what I said to you! You are great at doing your job at being the Apprentice, I shouldn't had said what I meant last night. You're not useless, and I'm really sorry!" Katara ranted quickly as she tried to get Kiara to understand her. Her sky blue eyes were pleading for the older girl to understand.

It grew awkward for the darker haired girl, who now had all the attention on her. A part of Kiara wanted to forgive her, yet she also wanted to say 'screw off' and hold the grudge forever. Despite her immature ways and thoughts, even Kiara knew that the mature way is to forgive Katara. A fake smile grew on Kiara's face as she stared over at the shameful waterbender, "Like I said last night, it's fine."

"Are you sure? I mean, I don't want to have my best friend to hate me!" Katara replied frantically with wide eyes. The statement made Kiara freeze in the spot and stare at the younger girl expressionless. It made her think of the life she had before when all of the children and teenagers in her village avoided her because of her occasional accidental bending. There were only two girls back home where they would talk with Kiara. They were more acquaintances than friends because they were in the more popular group of friends that didn't like Kiara. The two girls didn't want to destroy their social status' by being seen with the 'weird girl'. However, Kiara greatly appreciated the times when they would go against the unspoken rule of avoiding Kiara and actually speak to her. It never occurred to Kiara that someone considered her their best friend.

"I don't hate you." Kiara replied lamely, not wanting to share her mushy feelings. She wasn't the type of person that shared her feelings often, which embarrassed her when Sokka witnessed her crying. It was humiliating to have him hear her thoughts and feelings. That was why Kiara avoided bringing up that embarrassing topic with the teenager.

A warm smile appeared on Katara's face, "That's good."

"How did Zuko capture you last night?" Aang asked suddenly, breaking their conversation off effectively. Snapping her eyes over to the curious boy, Kiara bit her lip at the question. She had really hoped that they wouldn't question her.

"Oh, uh, right. About that," Kiara trailed off uneasily, as she averted her eyes. Perhaps if she mumbled and answered really fast that they would leave her alone. "Iwenttogopracticewiththescroll."

"What?" Sokka asked confusedly as he turned to face Kiara. Her face wanted to heat up in embarrassment because she knew that they would get angry at her for using the scroll. That stupid scroll had put them all in danger.

A long sigh escaped Kiara lips, it was better to get it done now than later, "I went to go practice with the scroll, and then he captured me."

"What?" Sokka repeated, now in disbelief. All three friends wore surprised and shocked expressions on their faces as they stare at Kiara. "You mean to tell us that you put us all in danger because you wanted to go splash around?!"

"No!" Kiara protested loudly as anger sparked within her. "Well, yes! I have a very good reason why too!"

Crossing his arms, Sokka stared down unamused at her, "Oh, really?"

"Yeah!" Kiara snarked back angrily, wanting to prove her point further. "I wanted to learn how to actually waterbend for once!"

Her statement caused confusion for the rest of the group. Silence followed shortly after as Kiara whipped her angry stare between each of her friends. Each wore a confused expression on their faces as they stared at Kiara. Replaying the conversation in her head, Kiara bit her lip awkwardly as she realized that she accidentally let out her troubles. She hadn't meant to speak of her worries and troubles to them. The words came flowing out of her mouth as soon as she had gotten angry at Sokka's accusation. It was too late to take back what she said. Narrowing her eyes, Kiara stared off the side of the saddle with her arms crossed stubbornly in front of her. "Yeah, well, it doesn't matter anymore."

"What do you mean that you wanted to waterbend?" Katara asked softly after a few more silent moments.

Kiara cringed as she realized that all three of them wouldn't drop the topic ever since she accidentally brought it up. She wanted to run far away from this topic. It was embarrassing. "I meant what I said."

"But you can waterbend just fine!" Aang added in as he leaned on his elbows that were propped up on his knees.

Her teeth bit down on her lip harder at the air nomad's words. Why couldn't they all just drop it already? "No, I can't. Let's just drop this topic."

"When I was teaching you and Aang, you were waterbending perfectly fine." Katara pressed further as she tilted her head to her left, making her long braid fall to her side.

A low sigh escaped Kiara's lips in irritation. Wasn't her hints obvious to them that she didn't want to talk about it? Her fingers picked at the string that held together her tight vest absentmindedly. "Yeah, well, I lied. It's clear that I absolutely suck at waterbending."

"Shouldn't you be good at waterbending? I mean, since water is your home element and all. Airbending should be one that's hard for you." Sokka replied logically while raising an eyebrow.

Rolling her eyes, Kiara let out a frustrated groan that had gotten all three friends' attention again. Her jaw stuck out in stubbornness and irritation. "No, I suck at waterbending! I can bend air better than water. I don't know why but there's probably something wrong with me. But, anyways, that's why I took that stupid scroll so I could actually learn something! It was embarrassing to have you two bend water so easily while I could barely move the freaking water."

"Who was the previous Apprentice that was a waterbender?" After several moments of the three taking in her troubles, Katara gazed over at Kiara thoughtfully.

Shrugging her shoulders carelessly, Kiara rubbed her aching chest absentmindedly. She was trying to calm her temper, and having eye contact would simple flare it, so Kiara resulted in staring out in the horizon. Awkwardness filled Kiara once more at the mention of her being the Apprentice. It was still awkward knowing that you were reincarnated. "Dunno."

"Well, what I'm thinking of is that since you're Apprentice, you're relearning the elements kind of like Aang is." Katara explained thoughtfully, "-But I'm pretty sure the last Apprentice that was a waterbender was a really long time ago. So, it would be hard to learn waterbending after a couple centuries."

"I guess.." Kiara said slowly as she considered the waterbender's train of thought. Suddenly, she shook her head promptly. "Nah, I just think that the water hates me. I'm fine with being an airbender, I don't need that scroll."

"Yeah," Katara agreed with a dismayed sigh, "Who needs that stupid scroll anyways?"

Kiara heard a smug huff beside her, and she curiously turned to Sokka. Her eyes widened at object in his large hands: the scroll. A large smirk was plastered onto his tanned face, the smirk that Kiara saw often. "Is that really how you two feel?"

"Where in the world did you get that?" Kiara asked bewildered as she eyed the rolled parchment in his hand. That scroll reminded her of all the danger she had put them all in the past few hours.

"The scroll!" A large grin grew on Katara's face as she stared memorized at the scroll with excitement. Eagerly, she reached out to grasp the parchment, only for it to be taken away.

"First," Sokka started with the smirk still on his face as he held the scroll out of arm's reach, "What did you learn?"

"Stealing is wrong." Katara instantly answered, sounding like a child getting reprimanded. Kiara tried to not to snicker loudly at the thought. Katara swiftly snatched the scroll from her brother's outstretched hand, "Unless it's from pirates."

Rolling her eyes again, Kiara couldn't help the smirk appear on her face as she relaxed on the bundle of supplies at Katara's small joke. Laughter erupted from the airbender as he grinned cutely at the waterbender, "Good one, Katara."

* * *

_**Alright, I apologize for the wait everyone! I am currently writing the next chapter, which I really hope it turns out good! I know I have said this many times now, but I would greatly appreciate it if you all would review or PM me on how you feel about my story! I am paranoid that Kiara may possibly be a 'Mary Sue'!**_

**_Like it? Hate it? Lemme know in a review!_**


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